Gambling terms, explained straight

Racing & Pari-Mutuel

Pari-mutuel meaning lottery

A lottery-style betting system where all stakes on a given event are collected into a single pool, and winners share that pool after deductions, rather than being paid at fixed odds.

Also called
Modified parimutuel system, pool betting, tote1
Applies to
Horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and some lottery games1

Key points

  • All bets of the same type go into a common pool; taxes and the house take are deducted before winnings are distributed.1
  • The final payout depends on the pool size and number of winning bets, so it is not fixed until betting closes.1

Where this term is used

Racing Pari mutuel The general pool-betting system used in racing and other sports. Racing Pari-mutuel payouts How dividends are calculated from the betting pool after deductions. Racing Pari mutuel machine A device that records bets and calculates payouts in a pari-mutuel system. Racing Pari-mutuel horse racing The application of pool betting to horse-race wagering. Racing Pari-mutuel betting example A worked illustration of how stakes are pooled and winnings shared. Racing Pari-mutuel slot machine A slot-style game that uses a pari-mutuel prize pool instead of fixed jackpots.

Sources

  1. Parimutuel betting en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition, alternative names, and explanation of how the pool system works for this term.

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.