How A Sportsbook Stays In Business

What if everyone puts their money on one team and that team ends up winning?

Couldn’t that bankrupt the sportsbook? Yes that scenario could bankrupt a sportsbook. But a sportsbook would never let the betting public put too much money on any one side of a bet.

The way sportsbooks stay in business and consistently make money is by splitting the total amount bet on an event evenly between both sides of the bet.

Cowboys +6 at Patriots -6 Total Score: 51.5

A sportsbook wants 50% of the bets to go on Dallas and 50% to go on the Patriots. The same is true for the total line. They want bets to be split 50/50, half on the under, half on the over.

With a little bit of math they can keep the odds forever in their own favor.

Cowboys +6 (-110) at Patriots -6 (-110) Over 51.5 (-115) Under 51.5 (-105)

You very rarely, if ever, get an even money bet. The -110 that’s now next to the lines, called the vig, represents the percentage of money you’ll receive back if you bet $100. At –110 you’ll receive $90 for every $100 that you bet. If it were +110 it would mean that you would receive $110 for every $100 that you bet.