Vig — short for vigorish, also called juice — is the commission a sportsbook builds into every line. It is how books profit regardless of which side wins. Understanding it is the first step toward comparing odds across apps intelligently.
What does -110 actually mean?
The most common line in US sports betting is -110 on both sides of a point spread. To win $100, a bettor must risk $110. The extra $10 is the vig.
When both sides of a market sit at -110, the implied probabilities sum to 104.8%, not 100%. That 4.8% gap is the sportsbook's built-in margin on that market.
No outcome guarantees the book that margin on a single game. Over millions of bets, however, the math holds. The US national aggregate hold averaged 9.3% in 2024 across all licensed operators.
How does vig compare to "no-vig" or fair odds?
A no-vig line — sometimes called fair odds — strips out the house margin and shows the true implied probability of each outcome. It is the baseline a sharp bettor uses to judge whether a posted line offers value.
Online sportsbooks generally carry a lower margin than in-person books. That difference matters when choosing an app. See the Sportsbook App Head-to-Head: Side-by-Side Breakdowns section for direct odds comparisons between platforms.
How does vig affect common bet types?
| Bet Type | Typical Odds | Effective Sportsbook Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread (both sides) | -110 / -110 | ~4.8% |
| Moneyline (evenly matched teams) | -110 / -110 | ~4.8% |
| Parlay (multi-leg) | Varies; vig compounds per leg | Higher than single-game bets |
Parlays compound the vig across every leg. Each additional selection multiplies the house edge, which is why books promote parlay products heavily.
Why does the hold percentage exceed the per-market vig?
The national 9.3% hold is higher than the per-market 4.8% margin. Parlays, player props, and same-game parlays all carry steeper juice than standard spreads. The mix of bet types pushes the realized hold well above the spread-market baseline.
Apps also occasionally post stale or off-market lines. Checking odds across multiple licensed apps helps identify when a line is priced worse than the market average. The Full Sportsbook App Rankings: Every Major US Platform Scored includes odds quality as a rated factor.
Does vig differ by app?
Yes. Some apps shade lines more aggressively on popular markets. Others offer reduced juice on select games as a promotion. Bonus terms also interact with vig — rollover requirements of 5x to 25x mean a bettor must grind through the vig multiple times before withdrawing bonus-derived winnings. Full details are at the Sportsbook App Bonus Terms: Rollover, Expiry, and Bet-vs-Credit Rules page.
Payment speed and method also factor into the overall value equation. For example, PayPal at Sportsbook Apps: Which Operators Accept It and How Fast It Pays covers the fastest withdrawal option available at most licensed US books.
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