Vig is a concept that you definitely need to know if you are into sports betting. It can be defined as the edge that goes to the casinos from the sports bets placed. If you have been gambling in sportsbooks without even knowing the existence of vig, then you should take action to learn about it, now. Don’t you want to know how the sportsbooks are generating money from the bets that you place? When you place a basketball bet and win it, how are the sportsbooks taking advantage of it? How are they staying in business? The concept of vig may be familiar to you if you know how online casinos are making money when you play slots, poker, and more. Let us learn more about vig.
What is ‘Vig’ in sports betting?
Vig stands for ‘vigorish’ in sportsbooks. It is an online casino term that you will find when you visit the sportsbooks. Gamblers will be casually talking about the vig in the sportsbooks. You may have heard people talking about how unfair it is for a particular casino to have such a high vig. In some casinos, the vig is also referred to as ‘juice’.
Let us start by looking at the house edge in other online casino games. Then we will compare it with the vig in sportsbooks so that you can easily understand what it is.
Imagine you are playing a roulette game in an online casino. You placed a bet, and you won it. Now you do not get the whole bet amount back, right? Now, when you play a slot game and win it, you do not get the whole winning amount, do you? If you lose the game, the whole of it goes to the casino, that is the house. It is known as the edge that the house is made from the games. Now, even if you win the game the whole money is not coming to you, a small percentage of the total bet will go to the house, as the house edge. The online casinos collect house edge from all the players out there. And, that’s how they stay in business.
You can think of vig as the house edge in sportsbooks. It is an edge placed by the sportsbooks on different betting lines in the casinos. When you place a sports bet and win it, a part of it goes to the casino. Imagine, you have placed a bet on, say, soccer. And you win your bet. If you have placed a bet of 100 USD, you may get back, say, 90 USD. This is only a hypothetical case. We have used these numbers to give you a rough idea of what vig is.
Why is Vig important in sports betting?
It is essential to know what part of your total bet goes to the casino. Not that you can change that, but that you can plan accordingly. Understanding the vigour in sports betting, helps you know that, even if you win a 100 USD bet, you will not get back the whole 100. Therefore, if you need to get 100 out of the bet when you win it, you need to wager an amount that is more than 100.
Many times people do not think much about vig and place bets. They will understand the reality, only when they get back the winning amount. We recommend that you read the terms and conditions, the wagering requirements, and also about the vig details before you enter a bet in a sportsbook. In fact, it only makes sense that you know about the vig. There may be casinos that charge you a higher vig, than the standard classic rates. If that is the case, you will only get back a meager amount of your placed bet.
Also, if a sportsbook is not charging any vig at all on the betting lines, or is only charging a minute amount every time, then you need to be mindful too. You may be wasting your time at a scam casino. Always remember that there is no profit for the online casinos if they do not place the vig in the bets. That is how they generate money and stay in business. House Edge is a more known concept in online casinos, but however, a big community of gamblers still is in the dark when it comes to the vig in sportsbooks.
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