Parlay Bet
Combine 2 or more bets into a single ticket. The payouts multiply across legs; but every single leg must win, or the entire ticket loses.
What a Parlay Is
A parlay combines two or more individual bets ("legs") into a single ticket. If every leg wins, the parlay pays out at multiplied odds; far more than the sum of the individual bets. If even one leg loses, the entire parlay loses. Vermont operators let you parlay any combination of moneylines, spreads, totals, props, and futures (subject to correlation rules; see below).
How Parlay Payouts Multiply
The math is straightforward: convert each leg's American odds into a decimal multiplier, multiply them together, and multiply by your stake.
Example: a 3-leg parlay of three –110 favorites (each implies 52.4% to win):
- Decimal multiplier per leg: 1.91
- Parlay multiplier: 1.91 × 1.91 × 1.91 = 6.97
- $10 stake → returns $69.66 if all three win ($59.66 profit)
Compare to placing $10 on each leg separately and winning all three: $10 × 1.91 × 3 = $57.30 returns. The parlay pays more if all three win; that's the tradeoff for the much smaller probability of winning at all (52.4%³ ≈ 14.4%).
Vermont Example; Three Boston Teams
A "Boston parlay" combining same-night Celtics moneyline, Bruins moneyline, and Red Sox moneyline:
- Celtics –180 (1.56)
- Bruins –140 (1.71)
- Red Sox +120 (2.20)
Parlay multiplier: 1.56 × 1.71 × 2.20 = 5.87. A $20 stake returns $117.40 if all three win; but the implied combined probability is only about 31%. Bettors love these because the payout is large and the rooting interest is unified; sportsbooks love them because the cumulative house edge across multiple legs is much higher than on a single bet.
Why Parlays Have Higher House Edge
Each individual leg at –110 carries roughly 4.55% house edge. The vig compounds across legs:
- 1 leg: 4.55%
- 2 legs: ~8.9%
- 3 legs: ~13.0%
- 5 legs: ~20.3%
- 10 legs: ~36.4%
That's why "long-shot" 10-leg parlays look so attractive (huge payout) but bleed money over time. Every leg you add doubles the variance and adds to the cumulative vig you're paying. Stick to 2–4 leg parlays if you parlay at all.
Correlation Rules
Sportsbooks typically prohibit "correlated" parlays where one leg directly influences another. You generally cannot parlay "Patriots –7" with "Patriots moneyline"; the spread covering implies the moneyline. Same Game Parlays get around this by re-pricing internally correlated outcomes.
Operator Notes for Vermont
FanDuel and DraftKings typically pay the highest parlay multipliers in Vermont; they're aggressive on this product because they make money on the cumulative vig. Fanatics is competitive. Always run the same parlay through all three before placing it; multiplier differences of 5–10% are common.
Use the parlay calculator to compute any combination of legs.