What Are Betting Pools and How Do They Differ from Sports Betting?

The vast majority of bets placed around the world today are fixed odds bets. This means that a bookmaker sets the odds, and when you bet on a market, the odds remain fixed until the end of the event. Also, the odds determine your payouts at the end of the event, when the bets are settled.

There is, in turn, a different way to bet on sports (and other events): betting pools. Today, let’s take a look at what they are, how they work, and how they compare to fixed odds betting.

What are betting pools?

Also known as pari-mutuel betting or tote (totalisator) betting, betting pools are a form of wagering where all bets are placed into a pool. At the end of the event, the money in the pool is divided between all the winning bettors. Tote betting is mostly used in horse racing, but it has been adapted to other sports as well, like the weekly soccer Sportstake fixtures in South Africa, for example.

How do betting pools work?

In horse racing betting, there is a complex formula that determines the amount each winner receives based on the odds, minus the takeout of the organizers. When betting on other sports, in turn, things are more straightforward.

Basically, each participant pays an entry fee, which allows them to take their picks. In the case of Sportstake, the goal is for punters to correctly predict the winners of a series of 13 soccer matches, in a way similar to 1X2 bets at traditional bookmakers. Depending on how many of their predictions were correct, bettors get a smaller or bigger cut of the prize pool.

In Sportstake, for example, bettors who correctly predict at least 10 of the 13 outcomes will win a prize. The more of their predictions are correct, the higher the prize they will win. For the September 21-23 Sportstake ticket, there was a single bettor who predicted all matches correctly, winning R738,286.10 (around £32,000).

Pros and cons of betting pools

When compared to fixed odds betting, pools have advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, the returns can be much bigger with a relatively small investment. The prize pools can grow pretty large when there are many participants, even if the entry fees are modest. Also, pool betting is considered fairer than fixed-odds betting because the odds (in the case of horse racing pools) and the payouts are determined by the amounts bet on an event, not the bookmakers, making them a more realistic reflection of the probabilities.

One of the disadvantages of betting pools is the uncertainty when it comes to the payouts. When there aren’t many participants or there are too many winners, the prize pool has to be divided into many slices, making the payouts low. Also, pool betting involves a lower probability of winning, considering the large number of events involved - a bit like a long accumulator in football betting.

Final words

An occasional pool bet can be a great distraction from the usual grind of fixed-odds betting. It comes with higher inherent risk but also the possibility of a bigger payout on a small investment. Overall, it is a fun way to bet on sports that you should give a try sometimes.