Joe began writing for Basketball Insiders at the start of 2023. A keen sports fanatic ever since his first days playing football in junior school, he has developed a flair for writing over the coming years, and graduated with a BA in English Literature. His professional background in the gambling and sports industries now extends to five years, mostly covering horse racing and US sports. He has previously written for sites such as gg.co.uk and cheltenhamfestival.net on the horse racing side, having grown passionate about the sport by visiting his local tracks on a regular basis. As well as this, he has the honor of being published in the Royal Ascot magazine in 2019.
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Following his graduation with an Honors in Business Administration, Nick redirected his focus from conventional stocks and bonds to the world of sports team performance investments. He employs a unique blend of advanced statistics and historical data to construct intricate sports investment models, pinpointing value opportunities and consistently yielding profits. Nick's contributions extend beyond a single platform, as his work can be discovered on outlets such as Pistons Powered, Winners And Whiners, and numerous other publications.
All posts by Nick RaffoulPool betting has long been popular in the USA. In the past, however, it’s been a pretty informal affair between groups of friends or coworkers. Nowadays that no longer needs to be the case, since the laws surrounding betting in the USA have been relaxed. Along with many other things, this has opened up pool betting on professional, modern sports betting sites to a wide range of punters.
In this article, you’ll learn all the details you need to know about pool betting in the USA. We’ll explain what it is, how it works, and the very best sites at which you can try it for yourself.
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How We Rank the Top Pool Betting Sites
Online pool betting has become increasingly popular in the USA, to the point where – nowadays – you’ve got plenty of suitable bookmakers to choose from. We’ve narrowed those down to a top 10 for you, as you can see above, with these being five of the main criteria we looked at.
- Pools Options
To make our list, a bookmaker naturally needed to include at least some pool betting options. Both the quantity and quality of these options were also important, though.
Regarding the former, it was generally a case of ‘the more, the better’. The wider range of sports or pool betting types that were provided, the more kudos we awarded the bookmaker. Quality certainly mattered too though, relating to the structure of the pool, the explanation of how everything worked, the size of the rewards on offer, and so on. When it comes to options, we recommend Bovada, with plenty of pools to choose from.
- Potential Rewards
One of the main points of betting pools is that they can deliver much bigger returns than regular wagers. This is obviously still a sliding scale, however, and – at a basic level – the bigger the rewards are, the better the pool is.
Value still plays a role here, of course. The amount you’re being asked to stake should be proportional to your potential rewards. Also, even if pool bets are generally difficult to win, you should still at least have a realistic shot at doing so. With a range of different pools, MyBookie is one of the sites with the greatest potential winnings on offer.
- Terms and Conditions
All special offers and complex bet types come with a full set of terms and conditions, and it’s no different with betting pools. It’s crucial that you read this in advance, before attempting to join any betting pool, as we’ll explain later.
For now though, simply know that the quality of these T&Cs is something we take very seriously. Most importantly of all, they should be fair to the user. They should also be written in a clear manner, to help the punter understand them easily, rather than being either deliberately or unintentionally obscure. With plenty of experience behind them, BetUS is a site with some of the clearest terms you’ll find.
- Ease of Use
The general user-friendliness of the platform is something we judge all sportsbooks on. This definitely extends to pool betting sites too, and to these bet types specifically.
In short, it should be quick and easy to enter any pools. You should be able to understand them, take part, and collect any winnings with minimal effort. If you do require any extra help, whether direct or via an FAQ, this must also be easy to access. Again, we’re going with experience here and recommending BetUS as one of the easiest sportsbooks to use.
- Safety
When your money is on the line, you naturally want to be sure that a pool betting site is doing all it can to help protect it. The same goes for your personal information, which you must provide in order to sign up in the first place.
A betting site holding at least one license is non-negotiable for us. This should preferably be with an authority in the USA itself, but international brands may hold licenses with other regulatory bodies instead, such as the Government of Curacao. The betting site should also provide various security measures – including SSL encryption, firewalls, and anti-fraud checks – and submit itself to regular independent audits. If you’re looking for a safe sportsbook for pools betting, then look no further than XBet.
Top Pool Betting Online Sites Reviewed
Towards the top of this page, you can get a quick overview of our 10 recommended pool betting sites in the USA. Let’s look more closely at the five best options of all.
1. BetOnline – Plenty of Horse Racing Pool Betting Options
BetOnline is one of the oldest, busiest and most trustworthy online sportsbooks in the world. It has a reputation for offering a great user experience, early lines, quick payouts, and very large bonuses.
BetOnline will give you a 50% free play welcome bonus worth up to $1,000 when you sign up for a new account and use our BetOnline code. You will earn a 100% welcome bonus if you use crypto for your initial deposit, and BetOnline will throw in an extra 5% if you use Bitcoin as opposed to an altcoin. Creating an account is a quick and simple process. You will also benefit from lots of reload bonuses and free bets.
The odds on offer are very competitive, and it caters to casual horse racing betting fans and high rollers alike. You will come up against a maximum bet amount, but you can then re-bet multiple times if you would like to place a large wager.
BetOnline is also a lot quicker to process payout requests than most rival pool racing betting sites. It excels in every important area, so we have made BetOnline our number two pool horse racing betting operator for 2024. It is one of the world’s best all-round gambling sites, as it also includes one of the most impressive online casinos on the market.
What we like:
- Superb user experience after receiving a major update in 2020
- Competitive pools betting range
- Large crypto welcome bonus, especially if you use Bitcoin
- $1,000 welcome bonus
- The ability to re-bet
What we don’t:
- High rollover requirements
2. BetNow – Place Pools Bets Using Crypto
With a Curacao license and just over 5 years of experience, BetNow easily makes it as one of the most trustworthy horse racing pools betting sites available to US bettors. With a decent selection of BetNow promo codes getting released regularly, the site surely doesn’t skimp on boosting customer bankrolls. The bonus section has a little something for just about every type of bettor.
BetNow features a top-notch mobile betting site, allowing you to access its full range of horse racing pools betting markets on the move. Many US bettors prefer to create a web app and use the mobile website instead of the desktop platform.
While several payment methods are available, Bitcoin is an easy winner. It has the highest deposit and withdrawal limits and quickest transaction time frames. Other popular crypto banking methods like Tether and Ethereum aren’t available yet but we’ll likely see them soon as BetNow expands its cashier section.
BetNow has a decent customer support system going on, but the only challenge is you have to sign up to get the finer details on pretty much everything. You can contact the support team 24/7 via phone, live chat, and email.
What we like:
- Several promotions
- Innovative VIP program
- Nifty mobile website
- Decent odds
What we don’t:
- Comprehensive support requires sign-up
3. Bovada – Excellent Sports Betting App for iOS & Android
Bovada is one of the most famous online betting brands in the USA. It was launched in 2011 as its own independent betting platform, and has gone from strength to strength ever since. It features detailed sections for poker, casino games, and sports betting.
The sportsbook is excellent, particularly if you’re a fan of horse racing. You’ll find a range of horse racing pool, as well as pools for all of the biggest sports across the USA.
What we like:
- Excellent track record
- User-friendly survivor pools
- Exceptional poker section too
What we don’t:
- Prize funds for pools are relatively small
4. Everygame – Wide Range of US and International Races
With Everygame, you can pool bet on the Kentucky Derby, official prep races, and even a racehorse winning the Triple Crown. Everygame also has daily racing down with pari-mutuel odds available on all the main US tracks including harness races. There is also international action from countries where the sport of kings is popular.
Credit cards, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, & Litecoin, and wire transfers allow you to fund your gambling. Bigger ranges of payment methods are available with other providers.
An FAQs section is the main form of customer support, meanwhile, with questions and answers on various topics. Live Chat is also available around the clock.
This sportsbook might not offer the same level of optionality as some of the competition when it comes to game day and live-in-play betting, but Everygame does broadcast generous odds for horse racing futures bets .
What we like:
- Easy site to navigate; fewer options but more streamlined
- Wide range of fiat and crypto banking methods
- Horse racing futures go up quickly
What we don’t:
- Lack of optionality in prop market for game day bets
5. BetUS – Best Horse Racing Pools Site for Small Stakes
BetUS has an exceptional track record, stretching back to 1994. It has a fully-featured online sportsbook and casino section, and even runs its own radio station and betting podcast, and provides live streaming.
Most importantly for our purposes, BetUS offers plenty of pools betting opportunities too. These are split across several different varieties, although survivor pools are definitely its specialty. We were particularly impressed by the staking flexibility here, with anything from a $10 to a $500 buy-in being permitted.
What we like:
- Top-notch survivor pools
- Great range of buy-in sizes
- Variety of special features
What we don’t:
- Platform interfaces need to be updated
Explore Our Expert-Written Sports Betting Guides
What is a Horse Racing Betting Pool?
You already know what the best pool betting sites in the USA are right now, how we arrived at those rankings, and have a little more detail on our top five picks. Now though, it’s time to look at what exactly pool betting is.
With regular, fixed-odds betting, you’re essentially wagering against the sportsbook. They set the odds, and – if you think they represent good value – you place your wager. If it wins, you get a payout. If it loses, they keep your money
With pool betting, by contrast, you’re going against other users. You may still need to pay some money to the sportsbook to join a contest. These entry fees – collectively – are usually called the ‘pool’. After entering the contest, it’s your picks versus your competitors. Whoever makes the best picks over the course of the contest usually gets either the entire pool or a slice of it if there are multiple winners.
That’s the general concept of pool betting explained, but let’s see how it works when it comes to horse racing.
Different Types of Pool Betting
Technically, anything in which punters pile their money together into a collective prize fund could be called a ‘betting pool’. In reality, though, this term usually refers to one of the following categories.
A Win Pool Bet
This is the most basic type of pools betting when it comes to horse racing. Simply pick your winner, and if you choose correctly, you’ll be rewarded with part of the pool.
Place Pool Bets
Unlike traditional horse racing betting, there is no each way betting to be found in pool betting. If you do want to bet each way, you’ll have to place a bet in the win pool, and a win in the place pool. As the name suggests, you’ll win here if your horse manages to finish amongst the places.
Exacta Bet
We’re getting into some of the more complicated pools now with the Exacta Bet pool. Here, you’ll be tasked with picking two horses – one to win, and one to finish second. If you manage to predict the correct top two, and in the correct order, then you’ll be a winner. This is similar to the traditional forecast bet in horse racing.
Trifecta Bet
The Trifecta Bet pool is like the exacta bet, but a step further. Instead of just picking the top two, you’ll have to predict the top 3 in the correct order to win in the trifecta pool. In the same way that the exacta was like a traditional forecast bet, the trifecta like the traditional tricast bet.
Placepot Pools
Rather than just focusing on one specific race at a meet, the placepot pool spreads it’s choices out over 6 races. For each of the selected 6 races at a meet, you’ll have to choose a horse from each to finish in the places. If all of your 6 choices finish in the places in their respective races, then you’ll be a winner. This is closest to placing an each way accumulator.
Jackpot Pools
The jackpot is the hardest of all the pools to win when it comes to horse racing. In order to win the jackpot, you’ll have to correctly predict 6 winners from 6 races at any given meet. This makes it similar to the placepot, however you’ll need the winner in all 6 races, rather than just a place. If all 6 win, then you’re a winner, but one losing selection will ruin the whole pool. The jackpot pool is similar to placing a normal accumulator.
Pool Betting and Fixed Odds Betting Compared
Pool betting offers a fascinating alternative to regular, fixed odds betting. Like any form of gambling, of course, it has its good and bad points, with these being the main pros and cons.
Pros
- Straightforward
There’s a huge amount of variety within fixed odds bet types. Even some of the most common – like each way betting – can be difficult to understand when you’re starting out.
Pool betting is almost always very straightforward. You pay your entry, make your picks, and – if your picks win – you’ll get a share of the prize pool.
- Big-Time Prizes
The potential payout of a prize pool will vary from race to race, based on a variety of factors. It will almost always, however, be vastly bigger than any winnings you could realistically get from fixed odds betting.
- Limited Options
Too much choice can be a bad thing, and – with fixed odds betting – the world really is your oyster. Pool betting invariably limits you to one bet type, and tells you exactly which races, or horses, you can and can’t wager on.
Cons
- Hard to Win
There’s a reason pool betting prizes are so big – it’s because they’re harder to win. The rules will usually make it pretty hard to make good picks to start with, and – even if you do – you’ll be competing against plenty of other users throughout the season.
- Unpredictable Winnings
With a fixed odds wager, you see exactly how much you stand to win before placing the bet. With pools betting, your winnings can depend on both the size of the eventual pool and the number of other winners you share it with.
Winning and Losing Examples of Pool Betting
By now, you should have a pretty good idea of how pool betting works. To help make things crystal clear though, here are both successful and unsuccessful examples of how you might join one.
Winning Example
- Sign up with GTBets
- Stick $10 into your account
- Head to the Horse Racing Betting Section
- Select your Pick 4 with 4 horses you think will win
- Enjoy the racing and watch as your choices win
- Take home your share of the prize pool, along with the rest of the lucky winners
Losing Example
- Create an account on GTBets, deposit $10, and choose your Pick 4
- Pick a losing horse in your first race
- A losing horse means you are immediately out of the pool, resulting in a loss
Our Top 5 Betting Tips for Online Pool Betting
As with any other form of gambling, there are no guarantees of turning a profit in pool betting. There are definitely steps you can take to boost your chances though, with these being five of the most important.
Tip 1 – Start Slow
If you’re completely new to pool betting, don’t go charging into the Westgate Super Contest, which charges a hefty $1,000 entry fee to all players. Start slow instead, with a pool which only requires a $5 or $10 buy-in. As you grow more comfortable with the format, you can start to ramp up your stakes, and – by extension – your potential rewards.
Tip 2 – Take Your Time
Patience is key in most forms of pool betting. You shouldn’t submit your picks a few days before the racecard has been fully announced, nor should you make your choice before seeing what the track condition is. Delaying your decision gives you a better chance at making a more sensible pick, and gives you more information relating to the range of complications that can come with horse racing betting.
Tip 3 – Do Your Research
Don’t simply go with your gut when making your pool betting picks. Instead, your choices should be the result of extensive research and analysis. You can carry this out yourself, using the many free sites out there which are packed with statistical data. Alternatively, you can simply check out betting tips from pool betting experts, to see what picks they recommend.
Tip 4 – Experiment
While the fundamentals of pool betting will stay the same, the specifics can vary significantly. If you don’t like the way one type of pool works, therefore, don’t force yourself to keep joining it. Try out a new form instead, which may be more enjoyable and more profitable.
Tip 5 – Join Multiple Sites
Joining multiple sportsbooks has a range of benefits. One of the most obvious is that you can trigger each of their welcome offers, but it also lets you test out a greater variety of pool betting options. If your favourite betting site only provides survivor pools, for example, and you’re dying to try out a ‘super contest’-style pool instead, don’t be afraid to find a different sportsbook which provides these competitions and sign up.
Betting Pool Apps
Betting brands in the USA tend to be a little behind the times when it comes to mobile features. While some sites do indeed provide separate mobile apps for each of its offerings (including Daily Fantasy), the likes of MyBookie still have no apps available.
When you can find them, the appeal of mobile betting pool apps is obvious. It allows you to make your picks, check the status of your pools, join new pools, and so on, all with unrivaled convenience. Below, you can check out three of the best brands for betting pool apps right now.
Even when a brand doesn’t have an actual app, however, it’s not the end of the world. These sportsbooks will invariably still provide a mobile version of their main website, which – even if the performance is slower than an app – still has all the same functionality.
Brand Operating Systems Size (iOS / Android) Minimum iOS Version Minimum Android Version Bovada iOS 14.6MB 12.0 N/A BetOnline Android 3.7 MB N/A 4.4 Explore Our Top Betting App Guides
How to Sign Up to a Pool Betting Site
Modern-day betting sites in the USA tend to be very user-friendly, and it’s no different when it comes to pool betting. These are the few simple steps you must take to get up-and-running.
Step 1 – Pick a Sportsbook
This is the easy part. Simply take a look at our recommended bookmakers, pick one that appeals to you, and click through to the site. Remember that you can choose to do this either on a desktop or mobile device; the following steps will work the same way regardless.
Step 2 – Create an Account
Head to the homepage of your chosen brand, then click the ‘Sign Up’ button (or similar). Follow each of the steps in turn, alternately providing personal details such as your date of birth and home address, or setting account details like a username and password. Once you’ve done so, agree to the general T&C’s then hit ‘Sign Up’ again.
Step 3 – Make a Deposit
Log into your account, then click the ‘Cashier’ or ‘Deposit’ button to see your payment options. Pick one, fill in the requisite details, enter the amount you wish to deposit, and confirm the payment. You can see a typical list of payment methods on a pool betting site below.
Step 4 – Join a Betting Pool
With your account funded, it’s high time to join a betting pool. Head to the subsection for pools, and pick one of the contests that’s currently running. You will normally be given an option between different buy-in amounts here. Choose the one best suited to your budget and pay your entry fee, then be sure to make your first pick before the deadline for that round of the pool expires.
Discover Our Top Betting Guides
Is There Pool Betting In Other Sports?
Although horse racing does have a huge range of pools to bet on, there are other sports that you may want to have a look at once you’ve found that you enjoy the pool betting format.
Football Betting Pool
The NFL sees the most pool betting action by an absolute landslide. Every respectable pool betting site will run at least one contest throughout each season, and – with a bit of searching – you can typically find options for all of the three main types of betting pools (see below).
Because it’s such a big market, some bookmakers are also willing to get more creative in their pool betting formats here. For example, you may find Fantasy Betting, which combines the popular fantasy sports with pool betting.
Basketball
The NBA might arguably be a bigger betting market overall, but there’s no doubting which competition dominates when it comes to pool betting. Each year, March Madness sees a colossal amount of money being ploughed into betting pools. This comes not just from serious punters, but from casual sports fans too.
Specifically, March Madness pools usually involve filling in a ‘bracket’ for the entire tournament. If you somehow get your bracket right (which is incredibly difficult to do), you can end up with a seriously big payday.
What Types Of Pools Can Be Found In Other Sports?
Survivor Pool
This is the most common form of pool betting. It usually applies to the NFL, and is extremely easy to both understand and take part in.
Starting in Week 1 of the NFL season, you’ll need to pick one team to win their matchup that week. If they do win, you stay in the pool. If they lose, you’re out. The catch here is that you can only pick a team once in the entire season, meaning that – if you choose the Patriots in Week 1, for example – you can’t ever pick them again afterwards.
SuperContest / Mega Contest
Technically, the ‘SuperContest’ itself refers to a specific competition, run by Westgate in Las Vegas. You’ll find similar pools elsewhere though, which might be called ‘Super Contests’, ‘Mega Contests’ or something similar.
Regardless, these usually work in the same way. Each week of the NFL season, you’ll need to make a certain number of picks (usually five). Successful picks get ‘points’, and players with the most points at the end of the season get a share of the prize pool.
Again though, there’s a catch here. Rather than making simple money line selections, you must actually make your five picks against the spread each week.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve only ever tried fixed odds betting before, pool betting will represent a fascinating alternative. It’s harder to win in this area, of course, but the rewards for doing so are massive compared to the buy-in amount. You’ll also find a decent amount of variety in both how betting pools are structured, and the sports for which they’re available.
All that remains for you to do now is pick one of our recommended sportsbooks, sign up, trigger the welcome offer if it appeals to you, and join a betting pool. Stay patient and sensible with your picks, and you’ll give yourself the best possible chance of turning a big profit.
FAQ
What is a sports betting pool?
What sports can I bet on?
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