# How do sportsbooks make money? The vig, the hold, and being on that side

US sportsbooks kept 10.16% of the money they took in 2025. Where that comes from, why parlays pay them most, and what collecting the spread looks like.

Source: https://rizon.markets/learn/how-do-sportsbooks-make-money (updated 2026-11-04)

> **Short answer:** A sportsbook charges a built-in fee called the vig. At -110 on both sides it takes in $220, pays the winner $210 and keeps $10, about 4.5% of what it takes in if the two sides balance. In practice US sportsbooks kept more: [$16.96 billion on $166.94 billion in 2025](https://americangaming.org/commercial-gaming-revenue-hits-78-7-billion-in-2025-driving-record-18-1-billion-in-gaming-taxes-nationwide/), or 10.16%. Most of the gap is parlays. On an order book the same job is open to anyone: you quote both sides and collect the spread, and you take the risk the sportsbook takes.

## The vig

Say a game's total is 46.5, at -110 on the over and -110 on the under.

| | Over | Under | Sportsbook |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Takes in ($) | 110 | 110 | 220 |
| Winner gets back ($) | 210 | | 210 |
| Keeps ($) | | | 10 |

That $10 on $220 is 4.5%, and it doesn't matter who wins. It's why the [break-even win rate is 52.4%](https://rizon.markets/learn/what-does-over-under-mean) rather than 50%. If the money doesn't balance, the book is exposed to the result, so it moves the line or the price, or holds the risk because it thinks it knows better.

## What they actually keep

The share a book keeps is called its hold. Real hold runs well above 4.5%, and the difference is in what people buy.

| Where | On | Hold (%) |
|---|---|---:|
| [All US commercial sportsbooks](https://americangaming.org/commercial-gaming-revenue-hits-78-7-billion-in-2025-driving-record-18-1-billion-in-gaming-taxes-nationwide/), 2025 | Everything | 10.16 |
| [New Jersey](https://www.nj.gov/oag/ge/docs/Financials/PressRelease2025/December2025.pdf), 2025 | Everything except parlays | 4.9 |
| New Jersey, 2025 | Parlays | 19.2 |
| [Illinois](https://www.ingame.com/illinois-december-2025-sportsbook-revenue/), 2025 | Parlays | 18.3 |
| [Nevada](https://www.library.unlv.edu/gaming/reports/2025NevadaGamingWin.pdf), 2025 | Paper parlay cards | 32.59 |

New Jersey's figures are unaudited. A parlay multiplies the vig on each leg, which is why it's the most profitable thing a sportsbook sells.

## The part that isn't the vig

A sportsbook doesn't have to take every customer. Massachusetts regulators heard in 2025 that players who consistently beat the closing line are [likely to "have their limit lowered"](https://cdcgaming.com/brief/winners-face-betting-limits-losers-made-vips-mass-gaming-commission-learns/), and [its minutes](https://massgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/Meeting-Minutes-9.11.24-OPEN.pdf) record patrons being limited without notification. So a book can cut off the customers who are winning. That's a real advantage on top of the price, and one an exchange doesn't have.

## Being on that side

If you've looked at a sportsbook's numbers and wondered how to collect instead of pay, the honest route is an order book. Anyone can rest a bid and an ask, and the person who crosses them pays the spread.

| | Sportsbook | Market maker on an order book |
|---|---|---|
| Earns | The vig | The spread, plus any maker rebates |
| Who takes the other side | Whoever it accepts | Whoever hits your quote |
| Worst risk | Sharp customers | Being picked off when you're slow or wrong |
| Can turn away winners | Yes | No |
| Sets the line by | Traders and models | Your own quotes |

The research on prediction markets points the same way: on Polymarket, [one study of 588 million trades](https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/21615.html) found "successful traders provide liquidity using limit orders ... while unsuccessful traders take liquidity using market orders". It isn't free money. [Here's how the sums work](https://rizon.markets/learn/how-do-market-makers-make-money), including how makers lose.

You can try it with nothing at risk on [Thanksgiving's NFL games](https://rizon.markets/markets/bears-at-lions): rest your own total or spread in the book with practice money, and see who takes it.

## FAQ

### How much do sportsbooks make?

US commercial sportsbooks made $16.96 billion in revenue in 2025 on $166.94 billion taken in, [according to the American Gaming Association](https://americangaming.org/commercial-gaming-revenue-hits-78-7-billion-in-2025-driving-record-18-1-billion-in-gaming-taxes-nationwide/). That's before taxes and costs, and leaves out tribal sportsbooks.

### What is hold?

The share of the money taken in that the book keeps after paying winners. At -110 on balanced action it's about 4.5%. Across the US in 2025 it was 10.16%.

### Do sportsbooks want you to lose?

They want the vig, and they're happiest with lots of customers paying it. A customer who consistently beats the line costs them money, which is why books limit winners.

### Why do sportsbooks push parlays?

Because they hold far more: 19.2% in New Jersey in 2025, against 4.9% on everything else.

### Can you be your own sportsbook?

Running one legally takes a licence. Quoting prices on an order book doesn't, on venues that allow it, and that's the same job done from the other side. Kalshi and others have maker programs, and it's [free to practice on Rizon](https://rizon.markets/?ref=learn-how-do-sportsbooks-make-money).