Based on Beth Raymer's 2010 memoir of the same name, the film follows a young, free-spirited woman as she journeys through the legal and illegal world of sports gambling.

Lay the Favorite garnered negative reviews from critics, praising the performances of Willis and Hall but felt there was unexplored development in the characters and the gambling world.

Beth is intrigued and it turns out she has a good mind for numbers, easily grasping Dink's system and becoming his protégée and he views her as his lucky charm.

The website's consensus reads: "A clumsy misstep for director Stephen Frears, Lay the Favorite puts all its chips on endearing quirk only to go bust.

Club's Nathan Rabin gave the film an overall "B−" grade, praising Willis for giving "a nicely shaded character actor turn" and Hall for emitting "irrepressible energy" in her role, writing that: "It's a decidedly soft-boiled tale populated by some of the nicest degenerate gamblers you'd ever want to meet.

"[6] Jeremy Kay of The Guardian praised Hall for delivering "a fabulously ditzy turn that should gain her wider recognition in the US as a leading lady."

"[7] James Berardinelli wrote that despite Willis giving a "fine performance" as Dink Heimowitz, he felt the film was a "sitcom blown up to big-screen proportions" that carries "a series of missed opportunities" when delving into the characters' relationships and the gambling world, concluding that: "It won't take nearly as long to forget Lay the Favorite.

"[8] Scott Tobias of NPR compared Lay the Favorite to the Demi Moore film Striptease, saying its "a listless comedy built around a vivacious protagonist" that carries a "neither-here-nor-there quality" based on non-commitment of adapting the material and "lack of directorial interest" from Frears.

[9] Steve Macfarlane of Slant Magazine wrote that: "Lay the Favorite is obviously worse than it should be, but it's also a thinner and more pallid experience than it would have been if it were a total catastrophe—if it had any ambition.