Pool betting is an exciting alternative to regular sports or exchange betting. As the name suggests, all the stakes placed on an event are pooled and the winners share the entire winnings. But how do pool bets work, you may ask? We answer these and other questions in our detailed guide.
What is Pool Betting?
Pool betting is very much making a comeback in the United Kingdom and all across the world with some of the best bookmakers on the planet not only reviving the idea but making it bigger and better than ever.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of what exactly pool betting is, it's important to know that pool betting is a community bet – the more participants, the higher the potential winnings. Online pool betting has enabled bookmakers to offer enormous prizes on some pool games.
Now that that's cleared up, lets get down to business. Pool betting may seem overwhelming at first glance, but it's actually quite simple. All you have to do is choose the sporting event you want to participate in and – depending on the event – select a certain number of bets.
In most cases, bookies offer betting pools for either football or horse racing. There are also some specialised bookmakers that offer other sports such as American football.
The stakes for entering these competitions are the same for each participant, and once all the other punters have placed their bets, all the money goes into a prize pool. The person who has guessed correctly or scored the most points (depending on the type of event) wins the prize pool. This is divided among all the winners.
This means that players can win a massive prize if they are the only winners, making pool betting a bit like a lottery. If you're still unsure how it works, the following example should help to clarify this.
So let's say you want to bet on a horse race. There are five horses competing in this particular event, which we'll number 1 to 5 for clarity. To take part in the pool, you have to wager £1. 50 punters place bets on a particular horse to win the race. The spread is as follows:
20 punters on horse 1
13 punters on horse 2
8 punters on horse 3
7 punters on horse 4
2 punters on horse 5
With 50 bettors wagering £1 each, the prize pot is £50. If your horse wins, you get an equal share of the prize pool. If horse 1 won, each punter would get £50/20=£2.5. If horse 5 won, each player would get £25.
This is just a simple example. Most bookmakers offer much bigger events and prize pools. To illustrate this, here's a snapshot of The Football Pools ‘Classic Pools' game, where punters pick ten games from 49 options that they think will end in a draw.
Points are awarded depending on the outcome, and the punters with the most points win the pool.
There are countless other ways that bookmakers use to create pool events. We suggest checking out the bookies from our list below to see if there are any particular pools that best suit your fancy.
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#1
The Pools
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
18+, UK only. Deposit and place a minimum £10 cash bet at single or accumulated odds of 1/1 or greater and we will give you 1 x £5 in free bets plus an extra 3 x £5 Free Bets the following day. Applies to first cash bet only. Free bets credited as 4 x £5 bets to use on 3x Any sport & 1x Virtuals. Cashed Out, Void or Draw No Bet wagers do not qualify for this promotion. 1 x £5 Free Bets are credited upon qualifying first bet settlement, other free bets credited by midday the day after your first bet settles. 7-day free bet expiry. Available once per customer. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotion. Full T&C's apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#2
Quinnbet
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
If your account has Sportsbook losses at the end of your first day's betting, QuinnBet will refund 50% of your losses as a Free Bet up to £25 (min 3 bets) Plus 10 Free Spins on Asgard Warriors. Even if your account is up, you're guaranteed a £5 Free Bet Plus 10 Free Spins provided you place at least 1 bet of £10 or greater at the minimum odds. T&Cs apply | 18+ New UK Customers Only | Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#3
 Betfair
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
New customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#4
Colossus
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
Colossus Bets will match the value of your first 72 hours of play in bonus funds up to £100 (or currency equivalent). The time starts counting from the point when you make your first real money (not FreePlay) bet and the maximum amount of bonus funds that can be awarded to each new player is £100. You can use your bonus funds to fund any bet into a Colossus pool. Colossus Bets will automatically use bonus funds ahead of cash to fund your bets. You can use a combination of bonus funds and cash to fund a bet. Bonus funds may take up to 3 working days to be credited to your account after the completion of the 72-hour period and you have 12 months to use them. T&Cs apply. 18+ Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#5
 Betfred
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
New 18+ UK customers only. Register using the promo code WELCOME40, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+) within 7 days of registration. First bet must be on Sports. £30 in Free Bets and £10 in Free Spins (50x20p) credited within 10 hours of bet settlement. Free Bet stakes are not included in any returns. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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#6
 William Hill
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T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY
New customers using Promo code H30 only, Min £10/€10 stake, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. See full terms below. Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad |
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What are Some of the Best Pool Betting Sites?
There’s no better way of getting to grips with what is pool betting than by actually taking a look at our favourite pool betting bookmakers and seeing what they have to offer. There’s little doubt that pool betting is less common than fixed odds, however, we think you’ll be amazed by the amount of variety you can find from just a few world-class examples. Without further adieu here’s a closer look at some of our absolute favourites.
Pool Betting at The Pools
Are you looking for the best pool betting site? What about a website that has so much confidence in their pool betting system that they have named their website after it? “The Pools”.
There is no doubt that “The Pools” offers one of the best pool betting experiences among all the other pool betting bookmakers. They particularly specialise in football and horseracing with a vast array of betting options to choose from.
The best part is that many of the events offered by The Pools add an additional amount of prize money to the pools themselves. As you can see above, a £1 stake can win a whopping £3 million. Madness.
Besides this, if you get into their VIP programme, also know as the ‘Loyalty Club’, you will get a £5 free bet every time you place ten bets! The Pools primary focus is their sportsbook, and if you happen to be a fan of sports betting, it will be heaven for you. The Pools offers more than 25 sports to bet on. So without a doubt, if you are looking for pool betting, The Pool is the best place for you to be.
Pool Betting at Quinnbet
Quinnbet has one of the best offerings when it comes to pools, with a dedicated section that you can find by clicking on “Pools” on the left side of the homepage.
The sports offer is also outstanding, with football and horseracing as well as the NBA. Within each sport, there are a huge number of events to participate in – you're spoilt for choice for pool betting.
Another nice feature not offered by many other bookmakers is syndicates. Syndicates are groups of players who play the same bet and contribute to the stakes placed.
Quinnbet is overall a great site and a superb option if you're looking for some variety in betting.
Pool Betting at Betfair
When it comes to a bookmaker like Betfair, this is just another string in an almighty betting bow. For those of you are unaware, Betfair is the biggest betting exchange in the entire world. You may think then, it is surprising that they would also be dipping their toes in the betting pool, so to speak. But it’s not if you’ve actually experiences their site for yourself.
Although the betting exchange is what Betfair will likely always be best known for – which is fair enough, it tends to be what happens when you are quite literally the world leader in something – it is actually quite the jack-of-all-trades.
Betfair can boast a world class sportsbook, casino, bingo and more, however, while the tote offerings are extensive, there is still room for improvement. The site only offers horseracing pools, and the section could do with a makeover.
Pool Betting at Colossus
Colossus is – as the name suggests – a colossal pool brand. It's one of the largest sports betting companies that focuses exclusively on pool and tote betting. To say they specialise is an understatement.
If you're only in it for the pools, the site is for you with its extensive markets, including pool betting on individual games. The sports offering is excellent, as one of the only multi-sports pool sits – the list includes football, horseracing, NHL, NBA and even tennis and darts.
You can also team up with other bettors to form syndicates. Team captains make the decisions and prize money is shared with the syndicate. The biggest drawback of Colossus is the lack of traditional betting options, which might put off players who want to use a single platform for all their bets.
Pool Betting at Betfred
Betfred is enshrined in the history books when it comes to tote betting. From 1928 to 2011, all pool/ tote betting was owned by the government – in 2011, all rights were sold to Betfred. From 2011 to 2018 – when their sole ownership ended – Betfred had full control of the market.
Betfred continued to focus on horse racing for pool betting, offering a range of great tote events. Within each event you can play a number of different pools including: the classic Tote Win, Exacta, Trifecta and many more.
If all this seems confusing to you – Betfred has prepared a detailed section explaining the tote pools for you. This section explains each type of pool offered on the site and is perfect for anyone new to pools.
Pool Betting at William Hill
There’s plenty of crossover with Betfred and William Hill, and anyone who knows anything about their relationship won’t be too surprised by that fact considering that Betfred’s owner owns shares of William Hill.
One of the key examples they have in common is Tote betting. Yes, you’ll find plenty of pool betting options on horse racing at William Hill including the world famous Scoop 6, which offers you the chance to win a fortune for a very small stake and is one of the ultimate examples of what Tote betting can be.
Of course, pool betting in general from William Hill benefits from their all-around excellent product, especially when it comes to horse racing. They are a household name with a reputation earned over generations, and we’re very happy to see them share a little bit of the Tote betting goodness so that this fascinating form of betting can reach an even wider audience.
What Makes a Good Pool Betting Site?
As we said, there’s a lot of misconceptions surrounding pool betting. One of those is that it is distinctly complicated compared to other forms of betting, it’s not.
You make a prediction, if it’s right, you win. Only the amount you win is calculated through a different system.
With that in mind, the things that make a good pool betting site are very much the same as the things which make any betting site good. With that in mind, here are a few general aspects which you may want to look out for:
Security
- A secure betting site is the bare minimum of what can be offered for any serious operator. All sites that hold a UK or EU gambling licence must adhere to strict security regulations - all bookmakers on our list are licenced and registered to operate in the UK, making them perfectly safe for betting.
Banking Options
- Most online bookmakers offer the classic VISA and Mastercard options, but some punters may be reluctant to reveal their card details. There are countless alternative payment methods to choose from, such as e-wallets, gift cards and cryptocurrencies.
Customer Support
- When it comes issues involving money, good customer service is an extremely useful tool. Some great services to look out for are: a well-designed FAQ section where hopefully most questions will be answered. Secondly, a live chat function which allows you to communicate directly with someone - and more importantly - instantly. Offering the service 24/7 is another big bonus.
User Friendliness
- A well-designed website can do wonders for a punter. There doesn’t have to be any fancy effects on a site, but a clean homepage that is easy to navigate is a must these days. Bettors want their betting experience to be easy, fast and enjoyable, and the usability of a website is an important factor.
A good sign is that they do their best to accommodate their users - some features may be that they’re VPN-friendly, offer many payment methods or have an extensive FAQ section.
Keep in mind that when looking for a pool operator, there are a few differences. The betting markets are naturally smaller in general in terms of the sports they cover, you’ll also want to take commissions into account and of course, a good network of other people being interested in that pool is also important.
Although considering just how many people are on our top picks the last point shouldn’t be too much of an issue. All in all, when you want to find a good betting site, regardless of the type of betting you enjoy, the vast majority of what you should be looking for should be the same.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Pool Betting
As with any type of betting market, there are many different advantages and disadvantages to playing them. This often depends on the preferences of the user, but there are some that are universally agreed upon.
Below is a list of all the major advantages and disadvantages of pool betting. Even if you're not convinced, we recommend you to open an account and try it out. Who knows, it might even become your favourite form of betting.
Advantages
- It's exciting and different. The first advantage is that it's a great alternative to regular betting with fixed odds. A change of pace can be just what you need to spice up your betting, and pool betting is an easy way to do this.
- There are no fixed odds. This means that you can make big profits on your stake, however small it may be, because it all depends on your selections.
- The stakes are relatively small. It usually only costs you a few pounds to join a pool, with the average stake being between £1 and £2.
- It's a community-based betting option. With larger events, there are more participants, which means a bigger prize can be won.
- There are many different betting pool options. From selecting a single outcome to selecting a whole list of results, there are many ways to bet on pools.
- You aren't dealing with the bookmaker. Bookmakers have cutting-edge technology and experts to make sure their odds are profitable - which means you can win more money by avoiding this.
Disadvantages
- Not many sports available. Football and horse racing are the biggest sports in pool betting, some other leagues and events like the NHL or NFL are available but only selected bookmakers offer them.
- Lots of competition. Pools with the highest prize money attract many punters, which increases competition.
- The winnings can be small. If you bet on something obvious and many others do the same, your winnings will be spread over a much larger pool, leaving you with small winnings.
Pool Betting FAQs
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This is a form of gambling where you place a selection on an event or number of events, and if that selection wins you and whoever else chose that selection shares the prize money.
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That depends on the pool, the prize money can either simply be all the money that has been put in across all the selections, or it can be a pre-determined jackpot.
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It's really quite simple: choose an event you want to take part in, make your selections and pay the stake. That's it. The punter/s with the correct or highest score wins a share of the prize.
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Well, because what constitutes a winner can be so many different things depending on that particular pool. The different versions of betting pools largely depend on how a winning selection is chosen. For example, it could be the winner of a horse race, or it could be those who chose the positions of the top three finishers, for instance. What makes them a betting pool is the sharing of the prize money amongst the winners.
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Often, they won’t have any betting odds although that does depend on the specific pool, that’s because your prize money isn’t dictated by odds.
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There are two main factors to this, one is how much prize money there is, which we mentioned earlier in this FAQ, and also how many people there are to share that prize money with. In other words, if more people win, you get less.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
We’re so thrilled to see this classic form of betting make a comeback in the online world and we can only see things getting better from here. It’s not going to be for everyone, plenty of people will still want to stick with the fixed odds system and that’s absolutely fine. We love fixed odds sportsbooks – but if you’re looking for something new and exciting, this could be the perfect opportunity to give pools betting a go.
Jeremy is a die hard Evertonian and a massive sports fan. If he’s not watching Everton, he’s either playing football or watching whatever sport he can find on TV. With a keen interest in sports betting, sports writing is a match made in heaven.
