For most punters, having a flutter on the horses is done via a high street bookmaker or an online betting site – that’s the standard pathway these days.
But there is another way, pools betting, which we have already covered in an article on this very site.
Now, you may have read our article and still decided that traditional punting is for you – no problem. But we did want to elaborate on The Tote’s World Pool, and its ever-growing pool and payout sizes, which you can enter using your normal online betting site balance with many of the leading UK bookmakers.
You don’t need to sign up for a new account at all; you can simply get some skin in the game using your existing betting sites and apps.
So, what’s it all about?
What is the World Pool?
As you may know, pool betting brings together all of the live bets into one big kitty – this acts as the prize fund, from which winners are paid out.
That’s all well and good when the pool sizes are of a significant size – think Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National meeting, Royal Ascot and so on, but for a run-of-the-mill Tuesday afternoon at Bangor it can often mean that fixed odds betting is by the far the smartest way to go.
To remedy some of the malaise and disinterest in pool betting, The Tote – which remains the primary pool operator in the UK – has teamed up with a number of other premier providers around the globe to create one centralised prize fund for some of the biggest race meetings on the planet.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is on board, as are operators across Asia, America, Europe and Australia, to create one big hub of pool betting: and naturally, the available prize funds have increased exponentially as a result.
Which Races are Covered By the World Pool?
It’s possible that the races and meetings covered by the World Pool will change from one year to the next, so it will be worth keeping your eye on The Tote’s website and social media for the latest up-to-date information.
But since The Tote, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and other outlets joined forces in 2022, there have been some meetings that have been consistently selected for World Pool honours.
Those include Royal Ascot and British Champions Day on the Flat each summer, as well as other key festival and one-off dates.
In 2023, these were:
- May 6 – Newmarket
- May 20 – Newbury
- June 3 – Epsom
- June 20-24 – Ascot
- July 29 – Ascot
- August 1-3 – Goodwood
- August 23-25 – York
- October 21 – Ascot
Although the actual race dates will change from year to year, but it’s likely that the individual races and festivals covered by the World Pool will remain the same.
Is It Worth Betting in the World Pool?
There has long been scepticism about pool betting amongst those who prefer to place their wagers in traditional fashion with a bookmaker.
And it’s true that payouts when you win on The Tote can be lower than you would get via standard fixed odds betting.
But because the number of people paying into the World Pool is greater, the amount of cash sloshing around in the pot is higher than normal too – also, those punters with deeper pockets have less of an impact on the payouts received by bettors of all stake sizes.
When the World Pool was rolled out for the first time in 2021, punters actually received better terms via The Tote than the SP for five of the six races on British Champions Day – that certainly provided some food for thought.
And according to figures presented by the Racehorse Owners’ Association, a £10 flutter on all of the winners across the 2022 slate of World Pool events would have yielded £2,333 more in returns for punters than if they had bet at the bookmakers’ SP.
That is because of the greater activity in the pool, but also because The Tote take a smaller slice of the pie than the typical bookie does with their margins. The Tote operates at an overround of about 106%, on average, whereas the standard UK licensed bookmaker will charge around 120% on horse racing bets, on average, and often even higher for the most prestigious races and meetings.
It’s not just the classic Win and Place pools that you can get involved in. There are other, more exotic choices such as Swinger, Quinella, Exacta and Trifecta, and because these tend to be more popular overseas than they are in the UK, the World Pool offers punters that do prefer these bet types larger pool sizes – ultimately, that’s what anybody that engages in this form of punting is looking for.
Although not something that affects the vast majority of punters, traditional bookmakers do impose limits on their customers’ accounts – it could be stake limits, maximum withdrawals and even a ceiling on how much you can win (at the very top end of the pay-scale).
What’s more, some bookmakers will limit how much you can bet if you are considered a ‘risk’; that is, somebody who repeatedly picks winners or selections that continually deliver closing line value (CLV).
But with The Tote, it’s not a case of ‘you vs them’ – therefore, there’s no limit on what you can win if your luck is in.
How Do You Bet on The Tote World Pool?
As mentioned, you don’t even need to set up a Tote account in order to take advantage of their most popular bet types, which include the Jackpot, Placepot and Quadpot.
Many UK bookmakers offer you the chance to bet on these pools from your normal balance – simply head to their horse racing category, select a race or an entire card of races and you will see the various Tote products that are available.
William Hill, Bet365, Ladbrokes and Coral are just some of those that have integrated The Tote’s products into their platform, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds from your existing account and balance.