Overlay

Overlay in betting refers to a situation where the odds offered by a bookmaker are higher than the actual probability of an event occurring, creating a value betting opportunity for bettors.

For example, if you calculate that a team has a 50% chance of winning (which should translate to 2.00 decimal odds), but the bookmaker is offering 2.50 odds, this is an overlay. Betting on overlays consistently can lead to long-term profitability, as you are getting better value than the true probability suggests.

Sharp bettors and professional gamblers look for overlays to exploit mispriced odds and maximize expected value (EV).