If 2025 felt rougher than usual for your bankroll, the numbers confirm it: this was one of the worst years for recreational sports bettors since legal wagering went mainstream.

The sportsbooks didn't just win. They dominated. And the data shows just how thoroughly they cleaned out America's degenerates.

The Quick Hit

• Months with 10%+ hold: Six (a record in the post-PASPA era)
• Highest monthly hold: 12.4% in June
• State revenue reports above 7%: 307 of 342 (90%)
• Median hold: 10.92% (56% above the 7% industry standard)

The Numbers Don't Lie

The standard industry hold — the percentage of total wagers that sportsbooks keep as profit — is around 7%. That's considered healthy for both operators and bettors. It means the house wins over time, but skilled bettors can find edges.

In 2025, almost nothing was standard.

Close to 90% of state revenue reports showed a hold above 7%. The median hold across all reports was 10.92% — meaning half of all monthly reports came in even higher than that. And for the first time ever, six months in a single calendar year saw hold rates above 10%.

June was the peak at 12.4%. That means for every $100 wagered in June, sportsbooks kept $12.40. Compare that to a typical 7% month where they'd keep $7. That's a massive difference that adds up across billions of dollars in handle.

What This Means for Bettors

Higher hold rates mean recreational bettors are getting crushed faster than ever. The same betting strategies that might have produced break-even results in previous years are now producing steady losses.

Part of this is by design. Sportsbooks have gotten smarter about line setting, limiting sharps, and encouraging bettors toward high-margin products like parlays and same-game parlays. Every time you build that six-leg SGP, you're paying a premium in juice that the books pocket.

The parlay boom has been great for sportsbook revenue. It's been terrible for the average bettor's bottom line.

The Scandal Factor

2025 also brought an unprecedented wave of gambling-related scandals across professional sports.

Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat was arrested in October, accused of removing himself from a game so gamblers could win prop bets. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz of the Cleveland Guardians were charged in November with allegedly rigging individual pitches.

The NBA, MLB, and college basketball all saw players suspended for gambling violations. The integrity of games — the foundation that legal sports betting is built upon — took real hits this year.

These scandals don't directly affect hold rates, but they contribute to growing unease about the relationship between sports and gambling.

Public Opinion Is Shifting

A Pew Research poll from October found that 43% of U.S. adults now say legalized sports betting is "bad for society" — up from 34% just three years ago. Another 40% say it's bad for sports specifically, up from 33%.

When hold rates spike, scandals multiply, and public perception sours, regulatory pressure tends to follow. 2026 could bring tighter rules on advertising, prop bets, and parlay products.

The Bottom Line

The house always wins, but in 2025, the house won more than ever. Record hold rates across the industry meant recreational bettors were essentially paying a tax on every wager that was significantly higher than historical norms.

If your bankroll took a beating this year, you're not alone. The game is harder than it's ever been, and the books are better at extracting value than they've ever been.

Doesn't mean we're going to stop betting. We're degenerates. We know the odds. We play anyway.

But let's not pretend 2025 was anything other than what it was: the year the sportsbooks ate our lunch.