Gambling terms, explained straight

Racing & Pari-Mutuel

Pari mutuel machine

A pari mutuel machine is a totalisator that aggregates wagers into a common pool and calculates payout odds or payoffs after deductions for take and taxes.

Also called
totalisator, totalizator, tote, tote board
Used in
horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, some lottery games13
UK legal definition
“the contrivance for betting known as the totalisator or pari mutuel, or any other machine or instrument of betting of a like nature”4

Key points

  • All bets of a given type go into one pool; the machine totals them and deducts taxes and house-take before computing payouts.12
  • Payout odds are determined only when betting closes, unlike fixed-odds betting.13
  • The term pari mutuel refers to the betting system; a pari mutuel machine is the device that implements it.12

Where this term is used

Racing Pari-mutuel slot machine A slot machine that uses a pari-mutuel pool rather than fixed odds. Racing Pari mutuel The betting system where all wagers form a pool and winners share it pro rata. Racing Pari-mutuel payouts How the pool is divided among winning bets after deductions. Racing Pari-mutuel horse racing The application of pari-mutuel betting to horse racing events. Racing Pari-mutuel betting example A worked example showing pool calculation and payout division. Racing Pari-mutuel meaning lottery How the pari-mutuel system is used in some lottery games.

Sources

  1. Parimutuel betting en.wikipedia.org Provides the core definition and explains how the machine aggregates wagers and computes payouts.
  2. Tote board - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Covers the tote board and its role in displaying odds calculated by the pari mutuel machine.
  3. Gambling - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Lists the sports and events where pari-mutuel wagering is used.
  4. Betting and Lotteries Act 1934 legislation.gov.uk Supplies the UK legal definition of totalisator from the Betting and Lotteries Act 1934.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.