Hold (Sportsbook)
Revenue as a percentage of handle — the sportsbook's realized margin after results, fluctuating around its structural overround.
Hold is what the book actually kept: 5–10% typically, oscillating with results (favorites winning compresses it; upsets expand it) around the structural margin the overround sets.
Structural vs realized
Earnings calls distinguish luck from pricing: “hold-adjusted” figures normalize short-term results variance. Product mix drives structural hold upward — parlays and same-game combos hold multiples of straight bets, explaining the industry’s parlay obsession. Affiliate revshare on sports rides these swings; a bad results month depresses commissions program-wide, which negative-carryover terms then amplify. Diversification across brands is the affiliate hedge.
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