What is Handle?

The handle is the total amount of money wagered with a sportsbook over a given period — the raw volume of bets taken, not the book's profit. If $100 million is staked across a month, the handle is $100 million. The book's revenue, its Hold, is then a percentage of that figure. Worked example: a sportsbook takes $100 million in handle over a month at a 5% hold, producing $5 million in revenue. Note that the share of bets is not the same as the share of handle: a side might attract 70% of the individual tickets yet only 40% of the money. That gap tells you the small number of large bets — often sharp money — sit on the other side from the public's many small ones. Handle matters as the standard measure of market size, and in the United States it is reported by state gaming regulators, making it the headline figure for how big a market or a single book has become. The common mistake is equating handle with profit. Handle is gross turnover; the book keeps only the Hold, the margin built into its prices. A huge handle at a thin margin can still mean modest revenue. See also the Hold, the Vig, the Hold Percentage and sharp money.