Sportsbooks Made Bank On Parlay Bets In March: What You Should Know About The Enticing Wager

Written By Joe Boozell on May 19, 2021

Illinois sportsbooks achieved a record monthly profit of almost $50 million in March, with parlay betting being a key factor in their success.

In March, as is typical, sportsbook operators saw a significant profit from parlay bets. Illinois residents wagered $122 million on parlays, resulting in operators earning $21.2 million in profits.

This results in a hold percentage of 17.3%, which is unusually high. In total, Illinois sportsbooks held 7.9% of the handle for the month, including parlays.

The publications controlled only 5.6% of the total, not including bets, making it a reasonable standard for individual bets.

March Madness betting was the main factor behind Illinois shattering its all-time betting record in March, with a total handle of $633.6 million. During that month, Illinois residents placed bets totaling $365.7 million on basketball, which was about three times more than the amount wagered on parlays.

However, sportsbooks saw a much higher revenue generated from parlays than from regular sports bets, including in the NBA.

Operators made $16.2 million from traditional basketball bets, which was about $5 million less than the amount generated from parlays, even though parlays had three times the handle.

You may be questioning whether March was simply an anomaly.

In Illinois, the situation conformed to the trends, as basketball had the highest betting handle in February, while parlays generated the most revenue for sportsbooks, a trend that also held true in January.

What you need to understand about win gambling

Certainly, bets are a widely used type of gambling.

It’s clear why so many people are drawn to it – the opportunity to win big with little financial investment. By following numerous sports betting accounts on social media, you’re bound to come across frequent examples of lucrative parlays.

While that may be the perfect scenario for the customer, it is important to recognize that it is not typical.

The statistics provided demonstrate that wagers typically lead to financial losses. Placing bets on sports is a reliable method for Illinois sportsbooks to consistently generate revenue, often resulting in losses for bettors.

Placing a parlay bet is fine as long as you are betting within your means. It’s important to note that these bets usually favor the operator over the user.

Did bets play a role in Barstool andrsquo’s successful March in Illinois?

Famous personalities linked to Barstool frequently encourage their followers on social media to place parlay bets. When betting in Illinois, you will often come across “boosts” and other similar promotions.

We riding! https://t.co/pSkVuKIdwc pic.twitter.com/cmOtt1YLZ8

Whitesoxdave (@barstoolWSD) tweeted this on May 18, 2021.

Barstool debuted in Illinois on March 11 and ranked fourth in revenue, despite having the second-lowest handle among all sportsbooks in the state. It achieved a 12.8% hold, the highest among all books.

The reasoning behind this is purely subjective since we do not have the required information to determine if Barstool customers bet more on parlays than other sportsbooks. Nevertheless, the concrete evidence is quite compelling if you observe their behavior on social media.

During its Q1 earnings call, Penn National Gaming offered some explanations for Barstool’s elevated hold percentages.