How Do Sportsbooks Lose Money

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Mar 01, 2021 Everything more than 72 hours should be suspicious. Professional casinos will try to make all the money transfers as quickly as possible. Despite that, they will always transfer the entire amount of money that you earned while playing. However, fake sportsbooks will usually not credit winning wagers. In most cases, they will do that partially. Some sportsbooks credit you your risk amount for losing bets, and the lesser of the risk or win amount for winning bets. This means that if you bet $10 on the Patriots at -110, you earn $10 towards your rollover requirement if they lose, but only $9.09 if they win.

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  • Bonuses are an easy way to increase your bankroll, but they come with conditions
  • Sportsbooks typically require you to wager a certain amount before bonuses can be withdrawn – this is called play-through
  • Understand betting play-through requirements with this guide

It’s easy to understand that sportsbook bonuses are a great way to bolster your bankroll. Figuring out exactly what terms and conditions you have to fulfill before you’re able to withdraw these bonuses is not as simple.

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Every bonus offered by an online sportsbook, regardless of whether it’s an initial deposit bonus, a free bet bonus, or otherwise, comes with a set of wagering requirements.

Understanding detailed terms of bonuses such as play-through requirements and time limits can be complex, and sportsbooks often use complex jargon to obscure the complexities of redeeming these bonuses.

That’s where we come in. To have all the nuances of your sports betting bonus explained in simple, plain English, read on!

Find the best sign-up bonuses offered this season by checking our list of the best betting bonuses. Every site on the list has their best deposit bonus offer listed.

What Does Play-Through Mean?

Firstly, “play-through” can also be referred to as “rollover.” Two terms are interchangeable.

An example might help in understanding just what these mean. Let’s say that you deposit $250 to a sportsbook that is offering a 50% bonus with a 5x rollover. This means that you’ll have $375 to bet with, but can’t withdraw the bonus money until you’ve placed $1,875 ((250+125)x5) in bets.

The following table illustrates how much you will have to wager in order to clear common rollover/play-through requirements and obtain your bonus money, assuming a $100 initial deposit:

Sportsbooks calculate rollover and the bets that go towards clearing it differently, so be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully.

Sportsbooks May Place Odds Restrictions and Time Limits on Rollover

Some sportsbooks credit you your risk amount for losing bets, and the lesser of the risk or win amount for winning bets. This means that if you bet $10 on the Patriots at -110, you earn $10 towards your rollover requirement if they lose, but only $9.09 if they win.

Most books have rules against betting strong favorites to clear the rollover, so don’t be surprised if you have to bet at higher than even money to earn credit towards your rollover. If you have to bet at better than 2/1, it’s probably not a good deal.

Another thing to look out for is a time limit on the rollover. Rushing your bets to clear an arbitrary threshold is a sure way to place poor bets and lose money. Before you take a bonus with a time limit, calculate how much you need to bet per week to clear that requirement, and figure out if this makes sense for the way you want to bet.

Depending on Your Online Sportsbook, There May Be Additional Requirements on Your Bonus

Besides play-through requirements, sportsbooks have a variety of other terms associated with sign-up bonuses that you need to be aware of in order to clear your bonus for withdrawal.

They vary from sportsbook to sportsbook, so it’s worth reading the fine print before jumping on one and trying to cash out before you’ve met all of them.

Here are some examples of additional requirements:

  • Bets with a price of less than or equal to -200 (1.5) do not count toward fulfilling sportsbook bonus rollover requirements
  • No withdrawals can be made within 30 days of claiming this promotion
  • Only eligible for use in sports, horse racing, and casino
  • You can only have one active bonus at any one time. To claim another bonus the current active bonus must be completed or closed first.
  • In multiple bets, at least one selection must have odds of 1.50 (1/2) or greater to count towards any turnover requirement

Essentially, you might have to look out for the following requirements at your sportsbook:

  • Odds restrictions on bonuses. Some bets may not count towards your rollover beyond a certain threshold. Usually, this means that you can’t just bet on massive favorites over and over again for your rollover requirement.
  • You may have to wait for a specified time period before you withdraw your bonus.
  • You may be restricted to only using your bonus at certain sections of your sportsbook.
  • Sometimes, a sports betting site offers multiple bonuses. This is common if they have ongoing bonuses. You’ll likely only be able to have one active bonus at a time.

Apply Your Knowledge and Start Betting Today!

Now that you know exactly how sports betting bonuses work, you know the next logical step: start betting!

No matter whether you’re after a sign-up bonus or an ongoing bonus, we can point you in the right direction with that helps you decide on the optimal sports betting bonus.

Anything else you want to know about sports betting bonuses that we haven’t covered? Email us and we’ll make sure to cover it in an upcoming article.


How Do Sportsbooks Lose Money

Two large parlay tickets stuck out while Jason Simbal was reviewing the betting action on the Sunday night game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.

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'We have a $3,000 five-teamer that would win $65,000, and a $2,000 five-teamer that would win $43,000, both with the last leg Tampa plus-7,' Simbal, vice president of Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology, said before kickoff.

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The Cowboys prevailed 26-20, completing the lucrative parlays and sending CG Technology to another losing Sunday during what has been a tough six-week stretch for the house.

In October, Nevada's sportsbooks won $42.3 million statewide off of $517.3 million wagered. It was the third-largest month ever in terms of handle, behind only November 2015 ($557.4 million) and November 2014 ($535.4 million), according to Nevada Gaming Control. The $42.3 million won ranks among the most profitable months in the books' history as well, with $30 million of it resulting from football bets.

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The books won $36.9 million on football in September, putting them up $66.9 million for the first two months of the season. But bettors battled back in November and early December, including this week.

On Sunday, bettors won big on the Pittsburgh Steelers covering the spread in a 24-20 comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals. With approximately 70 percent of the money bet on the AFC North rivalry game on the Steelers, it was the biggest loss of the day for CG Technology and other Las Vegas sportsbooks.

The books were able to overcome the Pittsburgh win and came out ahead in the early games, but an afternoon slate that saw popular favorites New England, Oakland and Atlanta cover the spread took a toll on the house.

'Let's just say the afternoon was less than ideal,' a sportsbook manager for Caesars Palace said. 'Everyone and their cousin had the Pats and the Raiders today. Not a good afternoon for us.'

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The winless Cleveland Browns and the 1-13 San Francisco 49ers have been a thorn in the books' sides. The Browns and 49ers are a combined 4-23-1 against the spread. Bettors have caught on and, on a weekly basis, Browns and 49ers opponents can be found on the bulk of parlay cards.

'I think we've lost money on parlays like four or five Sundays in a row, which is just hard to believe,' Simbal said. 'That normally happens three times in a season.'

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Nevada Gaming Control will release revenue numbers for November by the end of the month.