Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 39-3012 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Is this a competitive Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
BLS's May 2025 median estimate for this role is 14.8% above its May 2024 estimate. A swing that large usually reflects survey sampling or classification changes between OEWS vintages rather than actual pay changes, so lean on the sector wage-growth benchmark (3.4% per year, BLS ECI) for planning.
Retail Trade is running a 4.8% job-openings rate with quits at 3.0% (BLS JOLTS). Demand has tightened for 2 straight months (4.2% up to 4.8%).
Top earners (P90) make about 2.2 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings climbed to 4.8% and quits returned to 3.0%. Frontline churn pressure is building again.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 3.4% per year, up from 3.1%, one of the few sectors accelerating.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The national median salary for Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners is $34,986 per year ($16.82/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $28,163 and $44,845 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $48,277 per year. There are approximately 8,950 gambling and sports book writers and runners employed in the United States.
About This Role
Post information enabling patrons to wager on various races and sporting events. Assist in the operation of games such as keno and bingo. May operate random number-generating equipment and announce the numbers for patrons. Receive, verify, and record patrons’ wagers. Scan and process winning tickets presented by patrons and pay out winnings for those wagers.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
About CompSignal
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
Free BLS wage benchmarks, JOLTS talent signals, and AI analyst briefs