Betting
How Sportsbooks Doubled Their Take From American Bettors
The national hold rate has climbed nearly 50% since 2019. The data shows a single product, the Same Game Parlay, is behind the sudden shift.
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How Sportsbooks Doubled Their Take From American Bettors
US state regulated sportsbooks processed $166.94 billion in total handle last year and generated $16.96 billion in gross gaming revenue. They enjoyed a year-over-year increase of 22.8% in revenue against only 11.0% growth in handle [1]. When revenue grows at twice the rate of volume, operators are extracting more from each dollar already wagered.
According to the American Gaming Association, the national hold rate stood at approximately 7.0% in 2019. In 2025, the AGA's own State of the Industry presentation confirmed the hold rate rose further to 10.2%. That is a 46% increase in the share of every wagered dollar that stays with the house.
What Caused It?
Same-game parlays now account for approximately 35-40% of gross gaming revenue for major operators, up from under 20% in 2021.
A standard point spread bet at -110 odds carries a house edge of approximately 4.5%. A five-leg same-game parlay, by contrast, carries a house edge that can exceed 35%. Sportsbooks use the excuse of correlated outcomes to give bettors an even worse price than a standard parlay.[2]
Credit: DraftKings – Screenshot captured by Felix Dubler on May 27, 2026
Why Did It Happen?
The hold rate rose because operators have built, promoted, and algorithmically optimized a product pipeline designed to move recreational bettors toward the highest-margin offering on the menu.
FanDuel filed a US trademark application for the term "Same Game Parlay" on July 19, 2019, and launched the product in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that November. It took less than two years for the industry to follow as both Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings adopted same-game parlays at the start of the 2021 NFL season. [3]
In its 2023 half-year results, Flutter Entertainment, FanDuel's parent company, reported that higher adoption of same-game parlays and tighter lines had helped "extend our pricing advantage over the rest of the industry to 410 basis points."
Every major sportsbook now opens its NFL page with pre-built "Popular SGPs" and one-tap parlay builders. DraftKings and FanDuel both offer weekly SGP insurance promotions framed as consumer protection but function primarily as re-engagement tools that introduce new users to the product.
Credit: FanDuel – Screenshot captured by Felix Dubler on May 27, 2026
Should Same Game Parlays Be Restricted
Applied to the 2025 national handle figure, the difference between the 2019 hold rate of 7.0% and the 2025 rate of 10.2% represents approximately $5.3 billion in additional annual losses absorbed by American bettors.
The AGA's quarterly tracker, updated through early 2026, shows Q2 2025 as the all-time high in tracked hold at 10.9%, while Q4 2025 reached 10.8%, both driven by strong NFL parlay volume in the back half of the year [4].
State-regulated sportsbooks generated $3.71 billion in gaming tax revenue in 2025, which flows to state and local education, infrastructure, and public services and is frequently cited by the AGA as evidence of the industry's public benefit.
The data clearly shows that sportsbooks are squeezing more and more money from American bettors as their hold rate has jumped by almost 50% since 2019. Operators have been open about their successful efforts to push consumers towards SGPs, their highest-margin product. The result is Americans are left holding billions in annual losses [5].
As sportsbooks continue to push users to SGPs where 30%+ edges are the norm, it’s up to regulators to determine if the losses are conducive to a healthy betting economy.
Chad Nagel is a passionate sports fanatic who has worked in the sports and betting industry for over a decade. He spent most of his career as an editor-in-chief for Soccer Betting News, South Africa’s leading soccer betting newspaper, owned by Hollywoodbets. His articles have also featured in some of the most respected sports media platforms in the world, such as SPORTbible, Sports Illustrated, Combat Sports UK, and many others.
References
- 1.Commercial Gaming Revenue Hits $78.7 Billion in 2025 — Driving Record $18.1 Billion in Gaming Taxes Nationwide. - American Gaming Association (AGA Press Release).. Accessed May 25, 2026
- 2.State of the States 2025 - American Gaming Association.. Accessed May 25, 2026
- 3.State of the States 2021 - American Gaming Association.. Accessed May 25, 2026
- 4.September 2024 Sports Wagering Results - New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.. Accessed May 25, 2026
- 5.December 2024 Total Gaming Revenue Results - New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.. Accessed May 25, 2026
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