A sportsbook is a venue, either a website or brick-and-mortar building, that accepts wagers on sporting events. There are many things to know about sportsbooks, including how they make money, which sporting events they cover, and whether or not they’re legal in your jurisdiction.

Sportsbooks offer bettors a choice of odds formats. The most common are decimal odds, which are used in continental Europe and Australia. Decimal odds are easier to understand because they include the bettor’s stake in the total payout, making it possible to spot an underdog or favorite instantly. The other popular format is American odds, which are also easier to interpret because they only include the profit amount without the bettor’s stake.

Regardless of the odds format, the key to sportsbook profitability is understanding how much vig to charge. A typical vig rate is between 100% and 110% of the total bet. This is a necessary cost of doing business that allows sportsbooks to pay bettors who win and cover their operating costs.

Some of the top sportsbooks have started to incorporate responsible gambling elements into their apps, such as level-headed menus of controls that let customers set how much they can wager in a day, week or month, or how long they can spend on the app. Others, like FanDuel, have introduced monthly player statements that show how much money a customer wagered and won or lost each month, delivered via push notifications. These tools can help limit problem behavior, but they’re not as effective as a full-fledged responsible gambling policy that includes intervention procedures and public service campaigns that encourage a holistic approach to gambling.