A wager is a bet of any size, or the act of placing one. The word is used in sportsbooks and casinos alike: a player can place a wager on roulette, blackjack or baccarat just as easily as on a football match.
It works outside formal gambling too. When one player offers another a “friendly wager”, they are proposing a private bet between the two of them. A sports fan might say, for instance, that they have placed a $100 wager on the New England Patriots. Whatever the situation or the type of bet, the meaning stays the same: money staked on a result that is not yet known.
Wagering in operator terms
For operators, the word also appears in wagering requirements, the number of times bonus funds must be bet before winnings can be withdrawn. Total amount wagered, known as turnover, or handle in sports betting, is a core KPI and the base for hold and margin calculations.