Sports Betting 101: What Does ‘Handle’ Mean in Sports Betting?

What Does Handle Mean in Sports Betting?

The handle is simply the total amount of money a sportsbook has accepted in bets on a game or period of time from bettors. This isn’t the book’s revenue on a given game or event, the handle represents the total dollar amount wagered. 

Sportsbooks also release the specific handle wagered on each side of a game, known as the betting splits — specifically, the amount of money and percentage of bets on each side of an event. For example, if the 49ers are playing the Packers, a book might release the following splits:

Bet % 

49ers: 53% 
Cowboys 47%

Money %

49ers: 46% 
Cowboys: 54% 

It may be interesting to see the breakdown of a sportsbook’s handle, but it shouldn’t be a factor in determining which side you’d like to bet. Some might think the Cowboys are the “right” or “sharp” side since they’ve seen the most money, but ultimately the splits are meaningless. Not all money is treated the same, some money is respected from sharp players, while other action (despite the bet size), won’t get the same respect from a bookmaker or sportsbook. 

As you probably could have guessed, the betting handle on the Super Bowl is usually the biggest handle of the year for bookmakers, NFL or otherwise. We seemingly see a record-handle on the Super Bowl each year.