Sportsbooks make money by building a margin, called the vig or juice, into the odds on every bet, so the payouts on both sides of a game add up to less than the money wagered and the book keeps the difference. On a standard -110 point spread with equal money on each side, that margin is about 4.5% of everything bet. Across all bet types, US sportsbooks kept $16.96 billion of the $166.94 billion wagered in 2025, a hold of about 10.2%, according to the American Gaming Association. The rest of the profit comes from parlays, which carry far bigger margins, and from managing risk so the book is rarely exposed on one side.
How do sportsbooks make money on every bet?
A sportsbook does not need to know who will win. It sets a price on each side that, combined, adds up to more than 100% in implied probability. That overhang is the vig. As long as the book takes roughly balanced money, it collects more from losers than it pays to winners, whatever the score.
Here is the standard example. A game has a spread of -3.5 at -110 on both sides. Two bettors each risk $110, one on each team.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total taken in (two $110 bets) | $220 |
| Paid to the winner ($110 stake plus $100 profit) | $210 |
| Kept by the sportsbook | $10 |
| Margin on money wagered | $10 / $220 = 4.5% |
Put another way, -110 implies a 52.4% chance on each side, and 52.4% plus 52.4% is 104.8%. A fair line with no vig would be +100 on both sides, 50% each. The guide to why the vig matters shows how much that costs a bettor over a season, and the no-vig calculator strips the margin out of any two-way price.
How much money do sportsbooks actually keep?
The number the industry reports is hold: the share of all money wagered (the handle) that the book keeps after paying winners. The vig on a single bet is the margin a book aims for; hold is what it actually keeps once results, bet mix and lopsided action play out.
| US commercial sports betting, 2025 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Handle (total wagered) | $166.94 billion |
| Revenue (kept by sportsbooks) | $16.96 billion |
| Hold | About 10.2% |
| State sports betting taxes | $3.71 billion |
Hold of about 10% is more than double the 4.5% on a straight -110 bet, and the gap is mostly parlays. The guide to hold in sports betting explains how books build that number, and the hold calculator works it out for any market.
This is what a no-house market looks like.
BettorEdge is a betting exchange: you bet against other people, not a sportsbook. No juice baked into the price, and no limits for winning.
Why parlays are a sportsbook's best product
Every leg of a parlay carries its own vig, and the margins multiply. At -110 per leg, the book's expected share is about 4.5% on a single bet, about 9% on a two-leg parlay, 13% on three and 17% on four. Same game parlays add a correlation price on top, set by the book's own model.
The state data shows it. Illinois sportsbooks held 18.3% of the $4.86 billion wagered on parlays in 2025, keeping $889.9 million, according to Illinois Gaming Board figures reported by InGame. That is why sportsbook apps put parlay builders, same game parlays and parlay boosts front and center. The parlay tax breakdown walks through the math.
How sportsbooks manage risk
The vig only works if the book is not badly exposed on one result. Sportsbooks protect it in a few ways:
- Moving the line. When too much money lands on one side, the book shifts the spread or price to attract the other side. The point spread itself exists to split action on uneven matchups.
- Copying the sharpest prices. Many books follow the lines set by a handful of market-making books and adjust when respected bettors bet into them.
- Limiting winners. Books can cap how much a consistently winning customer may bet, which protects the margin from the bettors most likely to beat it.
- Taking a position. Books do not always balance. When they are confident the public is on the wrong side, such as a popular favorite, they may hold the risk and expect to win more than the vig.
- Laying off. A book with too much risk on one outcome can bet it elsewhere to reduce exposure.
How do bookies make money?
Bookies make money the same way sportsbooks do: by charging juice. The classic bookie price is 11 to 10, the same as -110, so a bettor risks $11 to win $10 and the bookie keeps the extra dollar from the losing side when action is balanced. The word vig comes from vigorish, an old term for that cut.
A bookmaker in the UK sense works on the same principle, usually described as the overround: the implied probabilities of every outcome in a market add up to more than 100%, and the excess is the bookmaker's expected margin. On a two-way market priced at -110 on each side, the overround is 104.8%. On a long futures board, such as odds to win a championship, it is far higher, because a small cut is stacked onto every team on the list.
How do sports betting apps and companies make money?
Online sports betting companies earn from the same margin, at scale, plus a few business levers around it:
- Vig on straight bets across spreads, totals, moneylines and props.
- Parlays and same game parlays, the highest-margin product on most apps.
- Bet mix and promotions. Bonus bets and boosts cost money up front but are used to win customers who then bet the high-margin products.
- Cross-selling online casino in states that allow it, where the house edge is built into every game.
- Media and data partnerships, such as official league data deals and odds shown on broadcasts, mostly as marketing.
The costs are large too: state taxes, league data fees, payment processing, marketing and paying out winning bettors. That is why the business of sports betting depends so heavily on hold. A book that keeps 10% of handle has room for all of it; a book stuck near the 4.5% on straight bets does not.
How do peer-to-peer and social betting platforms make money?
A peer-to-peer platform does not take the other side of your bet, so it cannot profit from your losses. Another bettor takes the other side, and the platform earns from fees or subscriptions instead.
BettorEdge works this way. It is a peer-to-peer betting marketplace where more than 35,000 bettors bet against each other in 45+ states. Prices are set by bettors, so no vig is built into the line. BettorEdge keeps a platform fee on winnings, which can depend on your location and Premium status; free accounts include up to $100 in no-fee orders a month, and Premium costs $19.99 a month. The guide to peer-to-peer betting explains how bets get matched.
| Sportsbook | Peer-to-peer marketplace | |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes your bet | The sportsbook | Another bettor |
| Main revenue | Vig built into every price | Fee on winnings or subscription |
| Does it profit when you lose? | Yes | No |
| Margin on a -110 straight bet | About 4.5% | No vig in the price |
| Margin on a 4-leg parlay at -110 legs | About 17% | No vig in each leg |
How sportsbooks make money: FAQ
How do sportsbooks make money?
Sportsbooks make money by building a margin, the vig, into the odds on every bet, so the payouts on both sides add up to less than the money wagered. On a -110 point spread with equal money on each side, the book keeps about 4.5% of the total bet. US sportsbooks kept $16.96 billion of $166.94 billion wagered in 2025, a hold of about 10.2%, with parlays supplying much of the margin.
How do bookies make money?
Bookies make money by charging juice, classically 11 to 10, so a bettor risks $11 to win $10. With equal action on both sides, the bookie collects $22, pays the winner $21 and keeps $1, about 4.5% of the money bet. The same cut, called the vig or vigorish, is how licensed sportsbooks earn too.
How much money do sportsbooks make?
US commercial sportsbooks made $16.96 billion in revenue in 2025 on $166.94 billion in bets, according to the American Gaming Association. That is a hold of about 10.2%, meaning books kept roughly 10 cents of every dollar wagered after paying winners. States collected $3.71 billion in sports betting taxes from that revenue.
Do sportsbooks want balanced action?
Sportsbooks generally want balanced action, because equal money on both sides locks in the vig no matter who wins. They move lines to attract money to the lighter side. Books do not always balance, though: when they are confident the public is on the wrong side, they may keep the risk and expect to win more than the vig.
Why do sportsbooks like parlays?
Sportsbooks like parlays because the vig on each leg multiplies, so their expected margin rises from about 4.5% on a single -110 bet to about 17% on a four-leg parlay. In Illinois, sportsbooks held 18.3% of the $4.86 billion bet on parlays in 2025. That is why betting apps promote parlay builders, same game parlays and parlay boosts.
How do peer-to-peer betting apps make money?
Peer-to-peer betting apps make money from fees or subscriptions rather than from bettors' losses, because another bettor, not the platform, takes the other side of each bet. BettorEdge, for example, builds no vig into prices and keeps a platform fee on winnings that can depend on location and Premium status. Its free accounts include up to $100 in no-fee orders a month.
This is what a no-house market looks like.
BettorEdge is a betting exchange: you bet against other people, not a sportsbook. No juice baked into the price, and no limits for winning.