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Many sports bettors are familiar with parlay bets, which combine multiple wagers (known as legs) into one, increasing the odds and enabling potentially larger payouts.
Every leg must come true for the bet to cash, making parlays risky and generally low-value bets.
The most common parlays are multi-game parlays and same-game parlays. Multi-game parlays combine markets from multiple games, whereas same-game parlays involve multiple bets from a single sporting event.
Some sportsbooks offer a combination of the two that combines multiple bets from multiple games. The name of this wager varies by sportsbook, but it’s sometimes known as a same-game parlay plus or same-game parlay extra.
Another type of parlay may be less familiar to sports bettors. It’s called a progressive parlay. It’s a fledgling bet type in the U.S. online sports betting landscape.
DraftKings Sportsbook announced in December 2023 that it unveiled a progressive parlay feature in a handful of sports betting states—Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee and Wyoming. More states could soon follow.
What is a Progressive Parlay?
A progressive parlay is essentially a traditional parlay with more leeway.
The key difference is that you can still receive a payout from a progressive parlay without winning every leg of the bet.
That doesn’t happen with a regular parlay, where you lose your entire stake if one leg loses. The only exception? If you’re using a parlay insurance promotion, the sportsbook may refund you if only one leg loses.
A progressive parlay is thus less risky than a standard parlay, but the potential payouts are reduced, potentially significantly, based on how many legs lose.
How Does a Progressive Parlay Work?
A progressive parlay mostly works like a traditional parlay. You combine multiple bet selections into one wager. If all of the legs hit, you receive your full payout.
If one or more of your legs lose, you may still be eligible for a reduced payout. The more legs your bet includes, the more legs you can afford to lose.
For smaller parlays with three or four legs, you can typically only lose one leg and still get a payout. The payout will be less than what you would have won if every leg had hit, but it’s better than nothing.
For larger parlays, you can lose multiple legs and still receive a payout. You’ll likely profit if you lose only one leg on an eight-leg parlay. You might get your money back if you lose two or three legs.
The payout structure for progressive parlays varies by sportsbook.
How to Bet a Progressive Parlay
You place a progressive parlay like a normal parlay, selecting multiple betting markets you want to combine into one wager.
Some online sportsbooks will let you build a progressive parlay with just two legs, while others require at least three or four. Some books only allow spread bets in progressive parlays, in which case you can’t include moneylines, Over/Unders or prop bets.
Check your sportsbook to see if it offers progressive parlays and what rules it has for them.
You may only be able to build these parlays for specific sports such as NFL, NBA, college basketball or horse racing. Also, look for conditions around legs that void or push, as those can differ by sportsbook.
Once you’ve assembled your parlay, select the progressive parlay option in your bet slip or wherever the sportsbook houses it. If you do not denote your bet as a progressive parlay, it will be graded as a regular parlay.
After submitting your progressive parlay, you must wait until all the legs have settled to receive your potential payout. Your payout depends on the number of legs you hit.
The more you pick correctly, the more money you win.
Photo by Getty Images/Bob Riha, Jr.
