Hold is the money a casino keeps from gambling activity after winners are paid. In casino language, hold can refer to a dollar amount or a percentage, depending on context. It is used in slots, table games, sportsbooks, and management reports, but it is not always the same thing as house edge.
Plain Talk
Hold is the casino’s retained money from play.
If players collectively wager a large amount and the casino pays back most of it in wins, the remaining amount is the hold. On a slot report, hold often means the share of coin-in kept by the machine. On a table-game report, hold often means the share of drop kept by the table.
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Where it appears | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold | Money retained by the casino | Casino reports, management meetings | Shows what the casino kept |
| Hold percentage | Hold divided by a base number | Slot reports, table reports | Shows retained share |
| House edge | Long-run mathematical advantage | Game math, strategy pages | Shows expected cost of a bet |
| Actual win | Real result after play | Daily reports | Shows what happened, not what was expected |
This glossary page defines the term. For the game-math view, read House Edge and the Glossary.
Where You See It
You see hold in slot reports, table-game summaries, sportsbook dashboards, market revenue reports, and floor-performance meetings. Slot teams may talk about hold by machine, denomination, bank, or theme. Table-game teams may talk about hold by game, pit, shift, or player segment.
The UNLV Center for Gaming Research slot hold report discusses hold percentage as the portion of money gambled that casinos retain. The Nevada Gaming Control Board publishes gaming revenue information used to analyze win and performance over reporting periods. The American Gaming Association revenue tracker reports commercial gaming performance across categories, and the UNLV gaming reports library includes data sets that separate win, handle, and hold.
Why It Matters
Hold matters because it is one of the most practical casino performance words.
Players often think only in wins and losses. Casinos also think in volume, theoretical expectation, volatility, pricing, and reporting. Hold connects those ideas. It tells the casino how much money stayed in the operation from the play that occurred.
But hold can mislead if the base number is unclear. Slot hold is commonly based on coin-in. Table hold is often based on drop. Sportsbook hold is usually based on handle. Those are not interchangeable.
Example
A slot machine takes $20,000 in coin-in during a day and pays $18,200 back to players.
The casino win is $1,800. The hold percentage is 9% because $1,800 divided by $20,000 equals 0.09. That does not mean every player lost 9%. Some won. Some lost. The hold is the machine’s total result across all play for that period.
From the Casino Side:
From the casino side, hold is a performance signal, but it is never read alone.
A table-game manager may ask whether a low hold came from lucky players, poor game protection, unusual bet mix, high fills, weak decisions per hour, or one large winning player. A slot manager may ask whether a machine’s actual hold matches its configured payback, whether the sample size is large enough, or whether high volatility distorted the short-term result.
Finance, operations, marketing, surveillance, and compliance may all look at hold differently. Finance sees revenue impact. Operations sees floor performance. Marketing sees reinvestment capacity. Surveillance may notice unusual results that deserve review.
Common Misunderstanding
The common mistake is confusing hold with house edge.
House edge is the long-run mathematical advantage built into the game or bet. Hold is the actual or reported amount the casino retained over a period. A game can have a 1% house edge and show a 20% hold for one day because players were unlucky, bought in heavily, or stopped after losses. Another day, the same game can show a negative hold if players win.
Hard Truth
Hold is the casino’s scoreboard, not the player’s guarantee. Your session can ignore the average while the casino’s long-term report slowly moves toward it.
Related Terms
| Term | Difference | Best page to read next |
|---|---|---|
| Hold Percentage | Expresses hold as a percentage | Hold Percentage |
| House Edge | Mathematical advantage before results happen | House Edge |
| Actual Win | Real win amount for a period | Actual Win |
| Expected Hold | What the casino expected to retain | Expected Hold |
| Realized Hold | What the casino actually retained | Realized Hold |
| Drop | Table money entering the game | Drop |
FAQ
Is hold the same as house edge?
No. House edge is the expected mathematical advantage of a game. Hold is the casino’s retained result over a period.
Can a casino have negative hold?
Yes. If players win more than they lose during a period, a game, table, sportsbook, or machine group can show negative hold.
Why does table hold look different from slot hold?
Because the base is different. Table hold is often win divided by drop. Slot hold is usually win divided by coin-in.
Does high hold always mean a game is unfair?
No. High short-term hold can come from variance, bet mix, player behavior, or limited sample size. Fairness depends on rules, regulation, testing, and game math.
Why do casinos care about hold?
Hold affects revenue, labor planning, game mix, floor layout, marketing offers, and management reporting.
Deeper Insight
Hold is simple in concept and tricky in reporting. The trick is the denominator.
For slots, the denominator is usually coin-in, which is close to true wager volume. For table games, the denominator is often drop, which is money entering the table rather than every wager made. That is why table hold can look high compared with house edge. The table may hold 20% of drop even though the game edge on individual decisions is much lower.
Formula / Calculation
| Metric | Formula | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar hold | Total wagers or drop - player payouts | Money retained by the casino |
| Slot hold percentage | Slot win / Coin-in | Share of slot wagering retained |
| Table hold percentage | Table win / Table drop | Share of table buy-ins retained |
| Sportsbook hold percentage | Sportsbook win / Handle | Share of betting volume retained |
| Expected win | Handle × House edge | Long-run mathematical expectation |
Formula Explanation in Plain English
If a slot bank records $100,000 in coin-in and keeps $8,000 after paying winners, the slot hold percentage is 8%. If a table drops $50,000 and wins $10,000, the table hold percentage is 20% of drop. Those two percentages are useful, but they are not measuring the exact same type of base.
Related Reading
Read Hold Percentage for the percentage version of the term, then compare Expected Hold with Realized Hold. For the player-facing math, read What Is House Edge? and Expected Loss. For operations context, see Back of House and Table Game Protection.