What Does ‘Vig/Vigorish’ Mean in Sports Betting?
“Vig” (short for Vigorish) is the fee, or commission, a sportsbook charges for taking your bet.
Think of it as a “service charge” for doing business. It’s how the sportsbook guarantees it makes money, no matter who wins or loses the game. It is also commonly called the “juice.”
This fee isn’t added on at the end; it’s built directly into the odds you bet on.
The Most Common Example: The “-110” Bet
The easiest way to see the vig is on a point spread or Over/Under bet, where you see -110 odds on both sides.
- If there were no vig, a 50/50 bet would be “even money” (+100). You would bet $100 to win $100.
- With the vig, the odds are -110. This means you must bet $110 to win $100.
How the House Wins
Imagine two people bet on opposite sides of a game at -110:
- Bettor A bets $110 on the Lakers.
- Bettor B bets $110 on the Celtics.
- The sportsbook has collected a total of $220.
- The Lakers win the game.
- The sportsbook pays Bettor A $210 (their original $110 bet + $100 in winnings).
- The sportsbook keeps the $10 left over from Bettor B’s losing bet.
That $10 is the vig.
Because of the vig, you have to win more than 50% of your bets (specifically 52.4% at -110 odds) just to break even in the long run.