Sports Betting Q&A
Frequently asked questions about sports betting

Can sports betting be profitable?

Last Updated: May 7, 2020
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Fact Checked By: Adam Zdroik

Sports betting can be profitable, but the majority of bettors lose money, which is why sportsbooks exist.

Sports betting is not always profitable because it is against your favor due to the vig. For sports betting to exist, companies have to make money off it, which is why PASPA was struck down in 2018. While Nevada has been raking in millions of dollars through sports betting, new legislation will allow every other state to benefit from sports gambling. If states are benefitting from sports betting, that means those wagering are losing money more often than not.

It can be profitable...

To be a successful sports bettor, one has to put time into studying and researching various aspects of a matchup.

While turning a positive in sports betting is possible, it's not easy if you want to do it on a consistent basis. Before starting, a bettor should know the majority of terms used within the sports betting world. From there, research begins which could involve studying team trends, looking at odds or shopping around for the best lines.

To be a successful bettor, one doesn't simply win a few bets from a guess and continue to win. There's a reason sports betting is a big business and states turn a profit of millions.

...but it's not easy

Of course, if you want to win on your own terms, it will take time. Looking at simple numbers like home/away and against-the-spread records is the first step, but there's always another level to dive into. In baseball, you can examine batter vs. pitcher matchups and the same goes for coaching matchups in football. In basketball, you can compare efficiency numbers or look at each team's pace. The number of stats to study is endless, but finding the most important ones is the key distinction to being a successful bettor.

Once you have a preferred side, you can look around to see which sportsbook has the best odds for your bet. If you really like the Buffalo Bills and think they can beat the New England Patriots as an underdog, most sportsbooks will have different numbers. For example, your favorite site could have +200 odds as an underdog, but another one may have +220 odds. At that point, you have to decide if it's worth it to bet at the other sportsbook in order to get better odds. 

Another example is if the Bills are a +6.5 underdog at one site and +7 at another, both with -110 odds. It's clear the site with +7 and -110 is the better bet, but only if you're comfortable having money at numerous sportsbooks.

Some will be swayed by sports betting touts and handicappers, but paying for a service likely means you have to win a bigger portion of your bets. Sports betting is already difficult in order to come out in the positive as you have to hit roughly 52.4% of bets. Throw in the extra few dollars spent on a tout service and that percentage can rise to 55 or even higher, assuming you want to win something.

You could win at sports betting by using a service, but there's no guarantee the service will be profitable. If you want to put in the time, an individual can study as much as he or she wants and make bets based on those calculations. Every stat you research isn't going to help, but that's the fun in betting.

Read More Sports Betting Q&As

More Questions To Read
A futures bet is a bet on a future event, usually before a season starts.
Yes. Where legal, the Super Bowl is one of the most popular sporting events to bet on in the world, if not the most popular.
A hedge is a method to reduce risk and secure winnings for a specified bet.
If you've never bet before, there are surely a lot of words and phrases you've never heard before and even if you have bet before, you may not know...
Vig, or vigorish, is the cut or amount charged by a sportsbook for taking a bet, also known as juice.
Yes. Tennessee sports betting was legalized in 2019 and launched in 2020.
Yes. Sports betting is legal in North Carolina, but it will be fully operational on March 11, 2024, with pre-registration beginning on March 1, 2024.
Pennsylvania passed legislation to allow sports betting in 2017 and sportsbooks began taking bets in 2019.
Yes. Indiana passed a bill to allow sports betting in 2019 and wagering started in October with online betting opening a couple months later.
Yes, sports betting is legal in the state of Ohio.
Yes. Sports betting is legal and regulated in Arizona as of football season in 2021.
Yes. Pennsylvania passed legislation to allow sports betting in 2017 and sportsbooks began taking bets in 2019.
Yes. Michigan passed legislation to allow sports betting in December 2019 and the first physical sportsbooks opened in March 2020.
Yes, sports betting is live in Massachusetts.
Yes, sports betting is legal in Maryland. It launched on November 23, 2022.
Sports betting is legal in Ohio, and takes bets as of January 1, 2023.
Yes. Sports betting is legal in Virginia and residents began betting via FanDuel in January 2021.
NFL Week 1 odds came out on all the best sportsbooks following the release of the 2024-25 NFL schedule in May.
Yes. Colorado legalized in-person and mobile sports betting in November 2019.
Yes. New Jersey was one of the first states to legalize sports betting and online wagering after the 2018 Supreme Court decision.
Yes, FanDuel pays out real money. Whether you use the DFS portion of the website, sportsbook, or online casino, you will be paid out in real money.
Yes. Illinois passed sports betting legislature in 2019 and launched at legal sportsbooks in March 2020.
Yes. Sports betting can be a career if you make it your full-time job and put in the hours.
Bonus bets in sports betting are often connected to deposits and are also referred to as bonuses.
The plus (+) and minus (-) in sports betting can refer to either the point spread or betting odds.