A sportsbook (also called a book or a bookmaker) is a gambling establishment that accepts bets on sporting events and pays off winners at pre-set odds. It may also offer other betting options, such as futures and prop bets. Sportsbooks are legal in some states and run by state-licensed operators. In other states, they operate as private enterprises referred to as bookies.

Sportsbooks try to price their bets as close to centered games as possible. This helps balance the bettors on both sides of a wager, so that in the long run, they can collect their 4.5% profit margin from the vig. However, there are a number of human biases that work against the sportsbooks. For example, sports fans tend to jump on the bandwagon and take heavy favorites, which can make a game more lopsided than the actual expected probability of winning that bet. The sportsbooks can take advantage of this tendency to “shade” their lines and increase their profits.

A sportsbook’s Cash Out option allows you to cancel your active bets in exchange for a certain amount of money. The feature is available at most online and mobile sportsbooks in the U.S., including DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet and BetMGM. If you’re thinking about taking advantage of this feature, it’s important to understand the rules and restrictions that apply at each site. For instance, some sportsbooks don’t allow you to cash out your bets if they are in play, and others have different Cash Out prices.