Sports Betting Glossary

Futures bets predict outcomes that resolve weeks or months later — Super Bowl winner, NBA MVP, World Series champion, Heisman winner. Futures lock up your money until the bet settles, but they offer some of the largest payouts because of the uncertainty over a full season.

Live (in-play) betting allows you to wager after the game has started. Odds update every 1-3 seconds based on the game state. Live markets are wider and faster than pre-game lines. bet365 is widely considered the best live betting operator in Illinois.

A moneyline wager is the simplest sports bet: pick the team you think will win the game. There's no spread to cover — only the outright winner matters. Odds are expressed in American format (e.g., +140 for underdog, -160 for favorite) and reflect each side's implied probability plus the operator's margin.

Example: Bears -160 vs Packers +140. A $160 wager on the Bears wins $100 if Chicago wins. A $100 wager on Green Bay wins $140 if the Packers win.

A parlay combines two or more individual wagers (legs) into one bet. All legs must win for the parlay to cash. Each loss kills the entire ticket. Payouts multiply, so a 4-leg parlay at standard odds typically pays around 12-13:1.

Parlays carry significantly higher hold (operator margin) than straight bets — typically 10-25% vs 4-6% — making them expensive in expected value terms despite the appeal.

The point spread (or "spread") is a handicap assigned to even out the two sides of a wager. The favorite must win by more than the spread; the underdog can win outright OR lose by less than the spread.

Example: Bears -7.5 vs Packers +7.5. If you bet the Bears, they must win by 8+ points. If you bet the Packers, they win the bet by winning outright or losing by 7 or fewer. Standard spread pricing is -110 on both sides.

Proposition bets (props) wager on events that aren't directly tied to who wins. Player props are most common: passing yards, rushing yards, points scored, rebounds, strikeouts. Team props cover events like "first team to score" or "longest TD."

Player props are widely considered the most beatable major-market wagers because lines move slowly on injury and matchup news.

A same-game parlay (SGP) combines legs all from one game — e.g., Bears moneyline + Caleb Williams 250+ passing yards + DJ Moore anytime TD. Operators price SGPs with correlation adjustments (legs that are dependent on each other get worse pricing than independent legs).

SGP hold is the highest of any common bet type (often 15-25%). DraftKings' SGPx and FanDuel's Same Game Parlay Plus allow cross-game SGPs.

Teasers let you move spreads or totals by a set amount (typically 6, 6.5, or 7 points in football) in exchange for a lower payout. A 2-team 6-point football teaser typically pays around -120. Teasers are useful for crossing key numbers (3 and 7 in NFL).

Also called the over/under. The sportsbook posts a number representing the expected combined final score of both teams; bettors wager on whether actual scoring will go over or under that number.

Example: Bears vs Packers total 44.5. Over wins if the combined final score is 45 or higher. Under wins if 44 or fewer.

American odds express the price of a bet using positive and negative numbers. Negative odds (-150) show how much you must risk to win $100. Positive odds (+150) show how much you win on a $100 risk.

Example: -150 means risk $150 to win $100 (total return $250). +150 means risk $100 to win $150 (total return $250).

Decimal odds (2.50) represent the total payout for each $1 wagered, including the stake. A $10 bet at 2.50 returns $25 total ($15 profit + $10 stake). To convert from American: positive (+150) → (150/100) + 1 = 2.50. Negative (-150) → (100/150) + 1 ≈ 1.67.

Hold percentage is what an operator expects to keep over time. Spreads and totals typically hold 4-6%; parlays 10-25%; same-game parlays 15-25%; props vary widely. Lower hold = better prices for the bettor.

Implied probability is what the odds say the chance of winning is. Formula for negative American odds: |odds| / (|odds| + 100). For positive: 100 / (odds + 100).

Example: -150 has implied probability of 60%. +150 has implied probability of 40%. The two add to 100% only if there's no juice — actual market totals 102-110% because of operator margin.

Juice (or vig/vigorish) is the operator's cut. Standard -110 pricing on both sides of a spread means you risk $110 to win $100 — the $10 difference is juice. Combined implied probability on a -110/-110 market is ~52.4% per side, totaling 104.8% — the extra 4.8% is the hold.

Circa Sports famously prices many markets at -105/-105 (~2.4% hold) instead of standard -110/-110.

Arbitrage exploits price differences between operators. If DraftKings has Bears +6.5 (-110) and FanDuel has Packers -6.5 (-105), there are scenarios where the implied probabilities total <100%, locking in a small guaranteed profit. Most operators will limit accounts that arb consistently.

Your bankroll is the segregated money used for betting. Sound bankroll management means risking only a small fraction (1-5%) per wager — your "unit" size — to survive variance and avoid catastrophic losses.

Expected value (EV) is the math behind whether a bet is profitable over time. EV = (probability of winning × payoff) − (probability of losing × stake). A +EV bet has positive expected value — you'd profit over the long run. Most casual bets are −EV due to juice.

Hedging means betting on the opposite side of an open position to guarantee some profit (or cap your loss). Common with futures: if your $50 Bears Super Bowl bet at +1200 has them reach the Super Bowl, you might hedge by betting the opponent's moneyline.

The Kelly criterion calculates the optimal stake size to maximize long-term bankroll growth, given your edge. Full Kelly is aggressive; most sharp bettors use fractional Kelly (¼ to ½) to reduce variance.

Sharps are sophisticated bettors who reliably beat the market. Operators monitor for sharp action and often limit or close winning accounts — Circa Sports is the notable exception, accepting all action up to posted limits.

A unit is the standardized stake handicappers use to discuss bets without revealing bankroll size. "+5 units on Bears" means a confident bet sized larger than a 1-unit standard bet.

A value bet exists when you believe the true probability of an outcome is higher than what the odds imply. If you think a team has 55% chance to win but the odds (e.g., +120) imply 45.5%, that's a value bet — positive expected value.

Cash out lets you accept a partial payout on a wager before it settles. The offer is calculated from the current implied probability. If you have a winning bet halfway through a game, you can cash out for less than the full payout but eliminate the risk of losing.

Edit Bet (popularized by bet365) allows you to modify an in-progress parlay — swap a losing leg for a different selection, add a leg, or remove one. Available on many parlays during live play.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) is what the operator keeps after paying winning bets. State taxes are typically calculated on GGR (Illinois tiers from 20% to 40%).

Handle is the gross wagering volume — how much money customers staked. Illinois reported $1.4B in handle for December 2025 alone. Handle differs from revenue: an operator might hold only 7-10% of handle as gross gaming revenue.

Operators set limits per market based on volatility and account risk profile. Sharp bettors frequently see their limits cut after consistent winning. Circa Sports is unique in not cutting winner limits.

ACH (Automated Clearing House) connects your bank account directly. Deposits are usually instant; withdrawals take 1-5 business days. Most Illinois sportsbooks support ACH; some (Circa) prefer it.

Sportsbook apps use third-party geolocation (typically GeoComply) to verify you're within Illinois state lines before each session and wager. VPNs are blocked. Crossing into Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, etc. immediately disables betting.

Know Your Customer (KYC) is the identity verification process every Illinois sportsbook must complete before you can wager. Requires real name, date of birth, address, last 4 of SSN. Most operators verify instantly; some require uploading ID.

Play+ is a prepaid card used by most US sportsbooks. Deposits/withdrawals are instant. You can also use a Play+ card at ATMs to withdraw cash, making it the fastest path from sportsbook winnings to cash in hand.

Bonus bets (formerly called "free bets") are wagers funded by the operator. If your $25 bonus bet wins at +200, you get $50 in cash winnings — but the $25 bonus stake itself doesn't return. This is the standard format for welcome bonus payouts.

A deposit match promotion credits bonus funds proportional to your initial deposit — e.g., "100% match up to $1,000" means deposit $1,000, get $1,000 in bonus. The bonus typically carries a wagering requirement (rollover) before becoming withdrawable.

Free bet is the legacy industry term; most US operators have rebranded these as bonus bets. Functionally identical: a credited wager where only the winnings (not the stake) return as cash.

No sweat (or "second chance") bets refund your stake as a bonus bet if the first wager loses. FanDuel's Reset Tokens are essentially daily no-sweat bets.

A profit boost multiplies your winnings (not your stake) on a successful wager. A 100% boost on a $10 win at +200 turns the $20 profit into $40 — your stake plus $40 returns. Caps usually apply ($25-$100 of additional profit).

Rollover (or wagering requirement) is how much you must bet before bonus funds convert to cash. A 5x rollover on a $100 bonus means $500 in wagers must clear first. Most US bonus bets have no rollover on winnings, but deposit matches typically do.

The City of Chicago became the first major US city to add a dedicated sportsbook tax on January 1, 2026 — 10.25% on gross sportsbook revenue from wagers placed within city limits. Stacked on top of Illinois state taxes, total effective tax can exceed 50%. The Sports Betting Alliance has filed suit; HB 4171 would block local sports betting taxes statewide.

The Illinois Sports Wagering Act prohibits online betting on in-state college teams (Illinois Fighting Illini, Northwestern Wildcats, DePaul Blue Demons, Illinois State Redbirds). You can bet on these teams at retail sportsbooks, but only on game outcomes — no player props. Out-of-state colleges are fully allowed online.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) licenses and regulates all Illinois sportsbook operators. The IGB publishes monthly handle and revenue reports at igb.illinois.gov. License capacity is 26 total online sportsbook licenses; 10 are currently active.

Effective July 1, 2025, Illinois charges operators $0.25 per wager on the first 20 million bets per year and $0.50 beyond that. DraftKings and FanDuel pass the full $0.50 to bettors; bet365, Caesars, and Fanatics pass $0.25; BetMGM and Circa raised minimum bet sizes ($2.50 and $10 respectively) instead of charging the fee.

Retail sportsbooks accept in-person wagers. Illinois has retail locations including DraftKings at Wrigley Field, Rivers Casino Des Plaines (BetRivers), Grand Victoria Elgin (Caesars), Hard Rock Rockford, Hawthorne Race Course (Fanatics), and Casino Queen East St. Louis (DraftKings).

Signed by Governor JB Pritzker in June 2019, the Sports Wagering Act (SB 690) legalized retail and online sports betting in Illinois. Retail launched March 9, 2020 at Rivers Casino Des Plaines; online followed June 18, 2020.

The Statewide Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program (SVSEP) is the Illinois Gaming Board's tool for users who need to ban themselves from all licensed sportsbooks. Enrollments are 1-year, 5-year, or lifetime. All in-app self-exclusion tools at IL sportsbooks integrate with SVSEP.