What is juice (vig) in sports betting?
Juice (also called vig, vigorish, or the cut) is the commission a bookmaker charges on a bet. It’s the built-in margin that ensures the bookmaker profits over time regardless of the outcome. In sports betting, juice is embedded in the odds you receive.
How juice works
A fair coin flip at true odds would offer 2.0 on both heads and tails. A bookmaker offering this market might price it at 1.91 on each side. A £10 bet on heads at 1.91 returns £19.10 (£9.10 profit) if it wins. If equal money is bet on both sides, the bookmaker takes in £20 and pays out £19.10 — keeping £0.90 regardless of outcome. That margin is the juice.
Juice in casino games
Casino table games don’t literally charge ‘juice’ but the house edge serves the same function — it’s the built-in margin that makes the casino’s expected return positive over time. In some games like baccarat, a 5% commission on winning Banker bets is explicitly labeled — this is functionally the same concept as juice in sports betting. The key number to check is always the house edge or the commission, as these tell you the true cost of each bet.