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What is Bankroll Management in Sports Betting?

Bankroll management is the strategy of setting aside a specific amount of money for sports betting, and risking a small amount on each wager. Bankroll management is a disciplined approach to sports betting, that protects bettors from losing streaks over the long term.

A bankroll is the total amount of money you have set aside specifically for sports betting. From your bankroll total, define the percentage of your bankroll that will act as 1 unit. Typically, a standard 1 unit bet should be between 1%-5% of your total bankroll.

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What Is Bankroll Management?

Bankroll management is the process of setting aside a specific amount of money for sports betting, and dividing this money into individual betting units. A bettor's bankroll varies widely from person to person. By managing your bankroll effectively, you can reduce the impact of losing streaks by keeping your wager sizes consistent.

Why It Matters

  • Preserves your betting funds over the long term
  • Reduces the risk of losing your entire bankroll on a few bets
  • Encourages disciplined and responsible sports gambling
  • Prevents emotional decisions and chasing losses
  • Makes it easier to evaluate your betting performance and results

What Is a Betting Unit?

A betting unit is a measurement of the size of a wager. Often, a betting unit is 1% of a bettor's total bankroll. However, all bettors are different, and most bettors define one unit as 1% to 3% of their bankroll. Betting in units makes it easier to track the performance of your bets.

If a bettor has a total bankroll of $1000, they may decide that one unit is 1% of this total, which is $10. If a bettor has a total bankroll of $1500, they may decide that one unit is 3% of this total, which is $45.

Building Your Bankroll

Building a bankroll for sports betting requires discipline and a mindset for long-term performance and results, rather than chasing big, quick wins. The two key steps in building a bankroll are setting a betting budget and deciding what percentage of your bankroll will equal one unit. Then, it's about sticking to your bankroll strategy.

Setting a Budget

Setting a budget for your total bankroll is the first step to building an effective sports betting bankroll. This budget must be set using disposable income only, you must only include money in your bankroll that you can afford to lose.

Subtract all essential costs from your income, as well as savings, emergency funds, and other expenses. Once you have a figure after removing these costs, you can decide on your sports betting bankroll.

Choosing Your Unit Size

Your unit size is the amount that you will typically wager on a single bet. Most bankroll management strategies recommend risking 1% to 3% of your bankroll per wager, to ensure that your sports betting remains sustainable against losses.

To calculate the size of 1 unit from your bankroll, simply convert the chosen percentage of your total bankroll into a figure. For example, if you choose 1 unit to be 2% of your total bankroll, and your total bankroll is $1000, a 1 unit bet is $20.

Common Bankroll Mistakes

There are several common bankroll mistakes when betting on sports, with a key issue that many bettors face being discipline and following their plan. Here are a couple of key mistakes to avoid when managing your bankroll.

Over-Staking

Over-staking is a common mistake that bettors make when creating their bankroll plan. The recommended unit size is 1%-2% of your total bankroll, which helps minimize the impact of losing streaks and ensures your betting can remain sustainable long term, without blowing your bankroll.

Some bettors set their unit size too high, at 10% or higher. This mistake can lead to losing streaks ruining your bankroll, and blowing your budget.

Chasing Losses

Chasing losses is a key mistake to avoid when sports betting. The urge to win back lost money is a common problem, and often leads to placing reckless and impulsive wagers that damage your bankroll and undermine a bettor's unit-based staking plan.

Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and if you are in need of gambling support, call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET for help and advice.

Emotional Betting

Another common mistake is emotional betting, which includes betting on your favorite team to win or favorite player to score, go over a prop total, or win an award. Emotional betting clouds your judgement and often leads to low value bets. It's important to retain an objective view on games and events when sports betting.

Bankroll Management Tips

The key bankroll management tips are to avoid the common mistakes above, including setting your unit stake too high, chasing losses, and betting emotionally on your favorite teams and players.

Track Your Bets

Effective bankroll management requires a strict and dedicated long term approach. Tracking your bets is an excellent method to measure your betting success over a long period. You can track the ROI of your bets, while it is also beneficial to track the Closing Line Value on each bet you place, to help identify how profitable your betting strategy is.

Tracking results may help you identify trends in your betting performance and areas where your strategy is strongest.

Stay Disciplined

The ultimate key to bankroll management is discipline. It's important to stick to your unit amount over a long period of time, and avoid temptation to up your stakes unnecessarily. It's also important to never chase losses or bet emotionally, as these actions can quickly spoil your bankroll plan.

Logging and tracking your bets and CLV can become monotonous, particularly after losing bets, but it is a key factor in managing your bankroll and becoming a more effective sports bettor.

Additional Betting Insight & Explainers

The Fanatics Sportsbook blog offers further insight to sports betting markets, terms, and methods, including:

Bankroll Management FAQs

What is a betting unit?

A betting unit is a measurement used to define the size of a bet. Many sports bettors use betting units to represent a fixed percentage of their bankroll. A betting unit is typically between 1% and 5% of a bettor's total bankroll. Bettors often use units when discussing bets and wagers, rather than dollars.

How much should I bet on each wager?

This varies from bettor to bettor, and depends on personal circumstances and financial commitments. Generally, it is advised to bet no more than 1%-5% of your total gambling bankroll on a single bet. This minimizes the risk of short-term losses blowing your bankroll.

Set aside a fixed amount of money that you can afford to lose and divide it into betting units. If your bankroll is $1000, a 1% unit is $10 for example.

Why is bankroll management important?

Bankroll management is important when betting on sports. A strong bankroll management protects your finances and ensures that you can overcome losing streaks over the long term, by limiting your bets to small percentages of your total budget.

Reviewed by Joe Dixon