We hear this question often, How do sportsbooks make money?
How do sports betting sites make money?
The answer is simple and complicated.
The simple answer…juice or vig (short for ‘vigorish’).
What is juice / vig?
Juice is the commission built into the payouts. Sorta like how the house takes a cut at the poker tables. They don’t care which player wins at Hold Em, because they’re getting paid off the top directly from the pot.
Example:
If there are 2 evenly matched options in a wager the sportsbook will generally pay the winning players $0.90 profit for every $1.00 risked. If you risk $100 and win, you get $190 in return.
Players on both sides of the wager have risked 10% more than what their expected profit would be if they win. So let’s run this out a bit and assume $1000 of bets on both sides of this evenly matched event.
Team A – $1,000 in wagers
Team B – $1,000 in wagers
Sportsbook brings in $2,000 in total bets
Sportsbook pays winnings $1,000 + $900 total for a profit of $100.
This is a simplified, smaller scale of what actually happens behind the scenes, but it is a general example of how a sportsbook makes a profit. It’s all about the JUICE.
Sportsbooks Don’t Care What Team Wins
The ideal situation for a sportsbook is to have equal number of bets on all possible outcomes to maximize the guaranteed profit that the juice gives them. If they have more wagers on Team A, then they will adjust the point spread or the payout for Team B in order to entice more wagering on Team B…thus reducing their exposure or risk of having to pay winners from the house’s pockets.
Choosing the Right Sportsbook For You!
It can be a daunting task to sift through the thousands of options when choosing an online sportsbook to trust with your information and funds!
How do you avoid scam sports betting sites? How do you discover which sites offer the best incentives, customer service, and wagering options for your favorite games? We make it easy for you!
I’ve been in your position and trusted some faulty information because the website looked professional and I had heard of the name of the site before. Don’t be fooled, some of the most popular options are the biggest scammers…they’re just good at marketing. And since most sports bettors lose, the scam can go undetected for a very very long time.
I’m constantly monitoring our recommended sites to ensure compliance with our standards of service. I judge these sites based on their stability, privacy, customer service, wagering options, and player incentives in that very order. Just head to our sportsbook ratings guide to find a site or 2 that appeal to your style of play and you’ll see for yourself.
