Parimutuel betting or pool betting is highly popular across the US, with many states offering more than one racetrack and a firm following of horse racing in general.
In this guide, we introduce you to parimutuel wagering as a type of sports bet, how it works, the laws involved, and how to sign up with an online site that provides this form of betting. We also take you through several insightful strategies and look at the types of parimutuel bets available.
What is Parimutuel Betting?
Parimutuel betting (sometimes hyphenated to pari-mutuel betting) offers a different system to fixed odds betting. Deriving from the French term of the same name, it loosely translates to mutual wagering or pool betting.
In this form of betting, all wagers from a specific type of bet go into a betting pool. The taxes and vigorish or house-take are then deducted, and the odds are then calculated by sharing the remaining pool money among the winning types of bets.
Typically, the more popular a pick, the shorter the odds and the smaller the payout. However, if the favorite doesn’t win, those bettors who backed the horse that does win usually receive far higher payouts.
The sportsbook can only calculate the amount bettors receive off their bets once betting on a race has closed, and the race has started. In contrast, fixed odds wagers come with a starting price or odds already put forward by the sportsbook. In essence, this is the primary difference between fixed odds and parimutuel betting; the former comes with the odds already in place, while the latter only gives the odds after the race.
Additionally, parimutuel wagering sees bettors wager against one another instead of against the house. This form of wager typically applies to horse racing but can be used for any sport where participants finish in a ranked order, like golf.
Each parimutuel wager placed on a specific market goes into a pool dedicated to that line. When the race is run, the total value of all the wagers is added up, and the house subtracts taxes and its commission or vigorish. The amount left is then paid out to the bettors whose pick won, with the amount they receive correlating directly to the amount they bet. For example, in a race with only five horses running, we wager $10 on horse number one and $10 on horse number three. The house then accumulates the following wagers on the race: The total pool comes to $1,200. The house then takes its cut of, say, 10% ($120), leaving the pool with $1080. This figure is then divided by those who accurately predicted which horse would win, depending on the stake they wagered. If, for instance, the payouts for horses one and three were as follows: We could then calculate our potential payouts. Since the proposed payout for horse one is $5.40 for every $1 wagered, we would win back $54 on that wager if the horse won, while our bet on horse three would earn us $108 off a $10 wager if that horse took first place. The potential payouts are calculated according to how much that particular pick brought in; that is, the more wagered on a specific horse the smaller the payout. Think about it like this, if 50 people bet on horse one but only five bet on horse three, if horse one wins, the pool must be split between 50 people, whereas if horse three wins, the pool only needs to be divided between five people, making the latter payout far higher.How Does The Parimutuel Betting System Work?
How to Place Parimutuel Bets
Several of the best offshore sportsbooks offer parimutuel betting under their sportsbook tab or in a dedicated racebook. BetOnline is one such site that features a standalone tab for horse racing betting, and we will use this site as an example of how to sign up, deposit funds, and place your parimutuel bets. However, several BetOnline alternatives like TwinSpires also exclusively offer parimutuel betting on the horses.
Step One – Register with BetOnline
Open the BetOnline website and click the green “Join” button. Then, complete your details on the registration form that opens, and choose a username and password. Next, click “Create Account.”
Step Two – Get Verified
After you’ve registered your account, BetOnline will email you a verification link which you must click to activate your new profile. So open the mail, click the link, and then use your new credentials to sign back into BetOnline’s website to access your account.
Step Three – Make Your First Deposit
Next, you’ll need to fund your account so you can place different types of sports bets. Start by clicking the blue “Banking” button on the homepage. Then, select your payment method from the dropdown menu, and type in the amount you wish to deposit. Your next step, (and this one is important), is to type your BetOnline promo code “BOL1000” in the promo code box provided. Finally, click “Deposit Now” and follow the prompts to finalize your payment.
Step Four – Choose Your Race
Click on the “Racebook” tab on the BetOnline homepage. Then, select the track you want to view, for example, Turffontein, South Africa. Next, from the races available for this meet, select the one you want to put your money on; for instance, race six.
Step Five – Place Your Wager
Once you have selected the race, select your favorite types of bets to populate your bet slip with the relevant details. Next, add the amount you wish to put down onto your bet slip. Then, click “place bet,” and you’re done!
FAQs
Where can I place parimutuel bets?
Is parimutuel betting legal?
Does parimutuel wagering only apply to horse racing?
How do you win at parimutuel betting?
The Types of Parimutuel Betting Online
Parimutuel betting, like any other sports betting, provides several different types of wagers for bettors to place. While some are more advanced and take time to grasp, others are relatively straightforward. Below, we break down the different types of sports bets bettors can place when placing parimutuel wagers and what they mean:
Let’s begin with the simple, straight-up bets bettors can enjoy:
- Win: Here, bettors pick the horse (or athlete) they predict will be the event’s winner.
- Place: Bettors pick a horse to win the race or finish second.
- Show: In this instance, bettors pick a horse to win or finish in second or third place.
- Across The Board: This wager sees three types of sports bets in one and comprises separate bets on Win, Place, and Show.
The next variety of wagers bettors can place are called Exotic bets. These wagers involve bettors backing more than one horse in the same race, and include options like:
- Exacta: Here, the bettor picks two horses to win and finish second in that exact order.
- Quinella: Similar to the exacta, this wager sees a bettor pick two horses to win and finish second, in any order.
- Trifecta: This bet sees a bettor pick three horses to win and finish second and third in that exact order.
- Superfecta: A more complex wager, which has a bettor pick four horses to win and finish second, third, and fourth in that exact order.
- Duet: Here, a bettor picks two horses to finish in one of the top three places in any order.
Lastly, there are the more risky wagers a bettor can place, the multis and parlays, which see bettors backing multiple horses across different races for a particular track. So, let’s take a closer look:
- Daily Double: A bettor must pick the winners of two consecutive races chosen by the racebook.
- Triple/Pick 3: Similar to the daily double, here, the bettor must pick the winners of three consecutive races selected by the racebook.
- Quadrella/Pick 4: Again, the bettor must pick the winners, but this time, of four consecutive races outlined by the racebook.
- Pick 6: Accurately pick the winners of six consecutive races selected by the racebook.
- Parlays: This risky bet sees bettors pick horses from different races to Win, Place, and/or Show. Each bet on a race is called a leg, and these different legs make up the parlay. For a bettor to win the parlay, they must win all the legs that comprise their bet.
Parimutuel Betting Options
Parimutuel bets, with the exception of parlays, fall into two categories, straight bets like win, place, and show, and exotic wagers like duets and trifectas. Generally, bettors can cover more ground using exotic betting lines, but this requires using a tidy parimutuel betting system like box, reverse, or wheel bets, all of which come with pros and cons. So, let’s look:
Reverse or Box Parimutuel Bets
Boxing or reversing an exotic bet means that the wager includes picks to finish in any order rather than in a particular placement. For example, a Quinella is an Exacta reversed. Additionally, if there are more than two horses you think could finish first and second, you could box the wager and include a third and fourth horse.
While a Quinella has a simple AB BA structure where the unit stake doubles, a boxed wager with three horses follows the structure of AB AC BA BC CA CB, which sees a bettor wager six times a standard Exacta to cover all outcomes. Although far more risky, the profit here is exponential.
Wheel Parimutuel Wagers
Another strategy pro bettors use is called wheeling. In this instance, the bettor highly fancies a particular pick to win but doesn’t have a pick in mind for the place and show positions. Here, bettors would choose three additional horses (B, C, and D) to accompany their favorite (A) to win. So, the structure followed would be AB, AC, and AD. This means there are only three wagers in one, with the unit stake tripling.
Parimutuel Betting Strategy
In addition to wheel, box, and reverse betting that pro bettors put into action, there are several more general tips that bettors can put into play to help them place more accurate and lucrative bets. Below we look at several suggestions you can implement:
Do Your Research – Look at Fixed Odds Markets for Guidance
Horse racing betting is a global phenomenon, and while parimutuel betting is popular in the US, other countries like the UK and Ireland also offer fixed odds betting on the same races. Taking a look at the odds offered in these markets provides valuable insight into how bookies predict the race will finish and can make it easier to wager exotic parimutuel bets.
Consider the Value of Place and Show Wagers
While the primary draw for most bettors is backing winning horses, often there is increased value and often more profit to be made by wagering on other horses to take up positions like place or show. Although the payouts here are typically smaller, your chances of winning here are greater. Alternatively, you could also wager a win and a place on the same horse (hedging) or wager across the board to broaden your options.
Don’t Over-Do It on Exotic Wagers
Exotic parimutuel betting can be challenging, and as a result, we recommend starting off small to prevent spending too much of your bankroll in one go, especially if you are new to this style of wagering. In addition to keeping your stakes low here, reign in the variety of your wagers. For instance, when wheeling, don’t go for more than three horses to be your second and third until you are more confident at placing that type of bet.
Make Use of the Available Tools
Bettors can find free-to-use parimutuel betting software online that assists in tracking their wagers. For instance, bettors can use a betting calculator that helps manage their profits to a betting spreadsheet with formulas that help outline where you are going. Using this parimutuel betting strategy makes it easier to stay organized, wager more focused bets, and manage your bankroll.
Parimutuel Betting – Wagering on Other Sports
Parimutuel betting can be used for any sport where participants, horses, or humans finish in a ranked order. For instance, golf and soccer are both sports to which parimutuel wagers can be applied. Below, we look at how this betting style works for these other sports.
Parimutuel Betting on Golf
Golf tournaments like The Masters or PGA Tour see a number of golfers who finish in a ranked position. As a result, parimutuel wagering works well with this sport, and bettors can wager lines like an outright winner or pick the players that may finish second and third or those that finish in the top five, top 10, top 15, and even top 20. When visiting the best golf betting sites, many bettors will find parimutuel options available for this sport.
Parimutuel Betting on Soccer
The best soccer betting apps and sites combine parlays and match results to offer parimutuel betting on the sport. Since a soccer match has three potential outcomes, either team wins, or they draw, there are various options for parlays, where bettors can wager on the outcomes of several matches.
The Top Parimutuel Betting App
There are several aspects for bettors to consider when looking for the best horse racing betting apps. Firstly, whether they choose a downloadable application or a mobile-optimized website, it should offer all the parimutuel wagering options they enjoy on a desktop computer.
The best betting apps will also function without a hitch on various devices, like smartphones and tablets, and provide seamless compatibility with multiple operating systems, like iOS and Android. Additionally, these platforms should be user-friendly and load quickly.
Parimutuel Betting Laws
Most states across the US offer legal parimutuel betting. However, several states (Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Utah) are yet to introduce wagering on horse racing or sports betting that involves parimutuel wagers.
Where there are authorized parimutuel bets available, this is typically state-regulated, with each individual state outlining its own rules and taxes.
