sportsbook

English

Etymology

sports +‎ book

Noun

sportsbook (plural sportsbooks)

1. (US) A place where a gambler can bet on various sports competitions; the company that runs it; the website that is its online presence. (Most such companies offer online betting, subject to geofencing by state.)

   Hypernyms: bookie, bookmaker

   • 2024 January 17, Danny Funt, “He hit three monster bets — and then the sportsbook wouldn't pay. One bettor's big payout was delayed for months because of a practice sportsbooks increasingly use as an insurance policy, according to industry observers”, in Washington Post‎^[1], retrieved 2024-01-17:

     There’s a common marketing slogan in sports betting: “Sweat the game, not the payout.” In other words, when dealing with legitimate sportsbooks and not some shady neighborhood bookie, gamblers shouldn’t have to worry about getting stiffed. Yet bettors say gaming operators aren’t always living up to that promise, and some industry officials agree. Bookmakers sometimes use a clause in their fine print as an “insurance plan,” as one top regulator put it, to get out of paying big winners — and multiple industry observers say the practice is increasing.