Handle Gambling Definition

Definition: To deny entry, refuse service, or eject an individual from an establishment Explanation: This term doesn’t refer to a specific game but rather to land-based casinos in general. The term originated as a part of restaurant and bar culture, but it is now mostly reserved for gambling. The math underlying odds and gambling can help determine whether a wager is worth pursuing. The first thing to understand is that there are three distinct types of odds: fractional, decimal,. Clinicians differ in how problem gambling is defined. Generally speaking, however, it can be viewed as an activity whereby an individual is unable to resist impulses to gamble, thus leading to serious adverse personal or social consequences. Stopping problem gambling can be extremely difficult, but once stopped, the ongoing task is to stay stopped. This is applicable in the case of gambling at a slot machine, and feeling unable to stop. When a person gambles at a slot machine, they’re unaware of when they will win a certain consequential amount of money, how much money and time they will need to spend to achieve that, or even if they will ever win.

Handle Gambling Definition Synonym
Handle Gambling Definition Psychology

Much like any business venture you embark on, the most important part of the journey (for most) is the bottom line. We live in a world where cash rules everything around us, so it is vital to turn a profit, not only for living purposes but to feel successful and accomplished. In the sports betting world, turning a profit seems to be a walk in the park for sportsbooks. They keep track of their billions of dollars by using a term called “handle” and nobody is aware of how big the handle is until the sportsbooks tell us. Publicizing specific numbers to bettors doesn’t serve much purpose for the sportsbook, so we are usually made to wait until well after an event to find out the exact numbers.

What is a Handle?

By definition, the wagering term “handle” refers to the total amount of money wagered over a specific period of time. In this instance, this term usually refers to the amount for a particular game or a number of different games over a given day, week or the entire season. It can also be used in another context, which allows the word “handle” to be used to describe the total amount of money bet, or simply the number of bets placed.

Can Knowing the Handle Help Bettors?

As I’m sure you already know, bettors look for any edge they can get when deciding what kind or how much money they should lay down on any given bet. Typically, sportsbooks keep the handle on the downlow until after the event, so unfortunately, the “handle” doesn’t really offer much help in terms of finding the edge. The only people who seem to benefit from knowing the handle on high-profile events is the mainstream media. The media is always quick to point out if the handle is up or down from past years, especially when the numbers involved are gigantic.

Most Common Use for the Handle

Events like the Super Bowl, a championship fight, and/or March Madness usually get the glorified “handle” discussion due to the magnitude of the events. However, the term handle is most commonly used in regards to horse racing. The horse racing “handle” focuses on the total amount bet on the entire race card on any particular day. If you know where or what you’re looking for, you can see the on-track handle, or the “all sources handle”. The “all source handle” includes bets made at off-track betting facilities, casinos and other racetracks that offer simulcast betting. As with the major events in sports (Super Bowl, March Madness), the handle is much more closely watched and talked during events like the Breeders’ Cup or the Triple Crown races. These races are known to bring in handles of tens of millions of dollars.

The False Handle

It goes without saying, most of the money wagered in Vegas is usually from bettors looking to get in on the action just to say they did. This is known as “dumb public money” which could inflate the handle and lead people (media) to believe that one side is the bettor play than the other. Furthermore, we don’t need an exact figure to tell us that the Super Bowl is an event that generally draws the biggest handle. Bettors shouldn’t let the money or number of bets placed on the Super Bowl effect their thought process when deciding how to bet on this game.

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If the first year of legal sports betting in New Jersey has proved one thing it’s that there’s a market for it.

NJ sportsbooks took in upwards of $3 billion in bets in year one.

Year two should prove even bigger now that the market has grown to include 10 retail sportsbooks at Atlantic City casinos and NJ racetracks. Plus, 14 different NJ sports betting apps and more preparing to launch.

Clearly, it’s more than just professional handicappers driving this new NJ sports betting market. People who have never placed a sports bet and don’t exactly speak sports betting are doing it, too.

Removing barriers

That’s partly because NJ sports betting apps and self-serve sports betting kiosks at retail sportsbooks have helped remove one major barrier to market entry.

Having to visit a betting window to place a bet can be intimidating. But for the most part, NJ sports betting apps and self-serve sports betting kiosks eliminate the need to do it.

However, another major barrier to market entry may still exist.

The language used at the window is a big part of why visit one can be so intimidating. There’s a sports betting jargon employed by operators and veteran sports gamblers that may sound like it takes years to perfect.

While some NJ sports betting apps and sports betting kiosks have done away with this complicated language in favor of something even novice sports bettors can understand, much of it is still exists.

However, it’s really nothing to be afraid of. You too can speak sports betting.

The language of sports betting is rooted in common sense. Plus, those who show a desire to learn can easily understand it.

A little refresher on the meaning of some of the most common sports betting terms is usually all that’s required. Start with the three terms described below and you’ll speak sports betting like a pro in no time.

Odds

Odds are basically a numeric expression of a team or individual’s chances of winning. NJ sportsbooks generally post what are referred to as moneyline odds, American odds or US odds. Sportsbooks use the odds posted at the time you placed a bet to determine how much to pay out when that bet wins.

Odds are posted with either a plus [+] or minus [-] symbol in front of a number. The plus symbol indicates that team or individual is an underdog and the number is how much each $100 bet on that side will pay.

The minus symbol indicates that team or individual is a favorite and the number is how much you’ll need to bet to win $100.

Sportsbooks also return the original bet to winners in both these cases.

For example, FanDuel Sportsbook is currently offering +280 odds on the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship. That means a $100 bet on the Lakers would pay $280 plus the original $100 bet back if they win the title next season.

Similarly, DraftKings Sportsbook is currently offering -121 odds on the Chicago Cubs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night. That means you’d have to bet $121 on the Yankees to win $100 and your original $121 back.

Sportsbooks may also refer to odds as the price offered on a bet.

Handle

Handle is a sports betting term referring to the total amount of money bet at a sportsbook, group of sportsbooks, on an individual event or group of events.

That $3 billion in bets taken by NJ sportsbooks in year one mentioned above is the NJ sports betting industry’s first-year handle.

Of course, handle is an industry term you don’t necessarily need to know to place bets. However, it’s not a bad idea to seek out some information about the industry you’re betting in. Knowing this term is as good a place to start as any.

Handle is not revenue. Revenue is what sportsbooks have left over from handle once all winning bets have been paid.

Another example of handle is the $34.8 million in Super Bowl bets NJ sportsbooks took in this past February. One might say NJ’s 2019 Super Bowl handle was $34.8 million.

One can also look at May 2019 numbers released by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement and see that NJ sportsbooks posted $318.9 million in monthly handle.

Hold

Hold is essentially the amount of handle sportsbooks keep after they pay out winning bets. The industry also refers to hold as win or revenue.

Once again, hold is an industry term you don’t necessarily need to know to place bets. However, the more informed you are about the industry the better choices you can make inside of it.

Hold can tell you how much money a particular sportsbook is making before taxes and other expenses. A number that you might want to consider when it comes time to choose a place to bet.

One reason a sportsbook could have a higher hold percentage than a competitor may be less competitive odds.

Those May 2019 numbers released by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement mentioned above list hold as sports wagering revenue.

Operators running under the Meadowlands license, including FanDuel Sportsbook, are leading the industry so far this year. These operators have posted a combined $53.4 million in sports wagering revenue.