Using a betting term, handle is the total amount of money bet on a game, tournament, race, or event. It can be shown as a percentage of all bets, or broken down by type of bet. It’s important to note that it’s a rough metric that doesn’t reflect actual amount of money wagered. It’s also easy to manipulate. For example, a bettor could bet $500 on a football game, but actually end up wagering three times as much as he put up.
During the Super Bowl, sportsbooks track handle to gauge how popular their lines are. This allows them to set lines for the game. It’s also used to compare the Super Bowl handle to previous years. While comparing handle is not necessarily accurate, it can be useful for bettors looking to get a feel for how big the action is. The sportsbooks report the number as an average of all bets placed for the period.
Revenue, on the other hand, is the amount of money the sportsbook holds once bets are settled. It’s a little more difficult to quantify in the short term, but can be easier to determine in the long run. It’s a relatively small percentage of the total handle, but is still a crucial element to understanding how the market is growing. The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement released its numbers for May, which saw $34.8 million in Super Bowl bets.
While handling is the term used by bookmakers to describe how much money is bet on a specific game, revenue is the monetary amount the sportsbook keeps after paying out winners. It’s not as sexy as handle, but it’s important to understand how the two work together to determine how the MLB integrity fee is going to impact the sports betting industry. It’s also helpful to consider how different types of bets affect revenue.
For example, the underdog is the team most people think will lose. They can cover the spread by winning the game outright. Or they can win by a number that is smaller than the spread. This will cause the odds to be higher for the favorite, and the gross revenue to go down. However, if the favorite wins, the handle percentage can rise, making the revenue ebb and flow.
The biggest and most contested markets are in Nevada, where betting has been legal since September. The state’s seven sportsbooks account for nearly 95 percent of handle in the eight states that have reported results so far. While handle in this market isn’t as high as it was in 2017, it’s still well above $4 billion for the third straight year.
New Jersey has the largest betting market outside of Nevada, and its sportsbooks made almost $1 billion in bets in December. The state’s first-year handle was a record for the state, as it posted over $318.9 million in monthly bets. The sportsbooks also made over $66 million in revenue, according to the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s year-end report.
