A parlay bet is a single wager where more than one correct pick is needed to win the bet. The odds for each of your picks are multiplied by one another to find the “parlay odds”, which are the odds applied to the entire parlay wager.

Parlay bets are also commonly referred to as combination bets or accumulators.

For example, you can place a parlay wager where you select the Senators, Maple Leafs, and Canucks to all win their games on a given night in the NHL. The odds for each of these teams is multiplied together to find your “parlay odds” which are then multiplied by your risk amount to find your potential payout.

If each of the teams win their games your parlay bet is a winner. If just one of these teams loses then your parlay bet is also a loser. More on this example below…

Calculating Parlay Bet Payout

To find your parlay bet payout amount you simply multiply the single odds associated with each of your picks by one another in order to find your total “parlay odds”. These odds are then multiplied by the wager amount in order to find the potential payout you would receive if all your picks are winners.

Here is an example:

As you can see multiplying the odds of 1.40, 2.40, and 1.44 together equals the combined odds of 4.83. These parlay odds are then multiplied by the wager amount ($20 in this example) to find the potential payout.

If the Senators, Maple Leafs, and Canucks all win their games you would receive a payout of $96.77 on a $20 bet. If any of those teams fails to win then the bet is a loser.

Parlay Bets Video

For those of you who prefer watching a video to reading a page of content I created the following video that explains parlay bets and gives an example of how to calculate your payout.

Parlay Bet Pushes

The most common method used by sportsbooks to deal with pushed bets on parlay wagers is to simply remove that pushed selection from the parlay bet and reduce the odds accordingly.

For those of you who don’t know, a pushed bet is one that you neither won nor lost. For example, if the over/under in an NHL game was 5 and the game finished with exactly 5 goals being scored then the over/under bet would push and be returned.

With parlays, the pushed bet will simply be removed from the parlay bet and the payout adjusted accordingly.

Uses of Parlay Bets

Parlay bets are typically used to increase your potential payout. This is often done when you’re betting on big favourites. For example, betting on Novak Djokovic in a first round match against a weaker opponent won’t win much as a single bet. But if you parlay Djokovic with Alcaraz for example, your potential payout increases and the bet can become much more enjoyable and profitable. Nobody likes betting $100 to win $10.

Parlay Bets and the Provincial Government Lotteries

Provincial sports betting lotteries (Proline, Sport Select, Proline Stadium, etc) used to require all bets made through their betting options to be parlay wagers. Single game bets were not currently allowed. This has changed with most provincial sports lotteries now allowing single game bets (some still require 2+ selections), but parlay betting is still encouraged through the betting lotteries.

Most provincial sports lotteries now allow single game betting, but parlay betting is still encouraged (and required in some instances). The governments prefer parlay bets in order to compound the juice on each bet (due to the horrible odds they offer) and in turn increase the profits for the provincial lottery corporations.