Parimutuel betting (from the French language: pari mutuel, mutual betting) is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house "take" or "vig" are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all placed bets. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Vigorish, or simply the vig, also known as juice or the take, is the amount charged by a Bookmaker, or In Probability theory and Statistics the odds in favour of an event or a Proposition are the quantity p  / (1 &minus 
The parimutuel system is used in gambling on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. This article is about the sport For other uses see Horserace (drinking game or Horse race (politics. Greyhound racing is the Sport of Racing Greyhounds The Dogs chase a lure (traditionally an artificial Hare or Rabbit Jai alai (ˈhaɪəlaɪ in English and jaɪɑlaɪ or xaɪɑlaɪ in Basque Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games. A lottery is a form of Gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize
Parimutuel gambling is frequently state-regulated, and offered in many places where gambling is otherwise illegal. Parimutuel gambling is often also offered at "off track" facilities, where players may bet on the events without actually being present to observe them in person. Off-track betting (or OTB) refers to sanctioned Gambling on Horse racing outside a Race track.
Parimutuel betting differs from fixed odds betting in that the final payout is not determined until the pool is closed – in fixed odds betting, the payout is agreed at the time the bet is sold. Fixed-odds betting is a form of Wagering against Odds offered by a
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Consider a hypothetical event which has 8 possible outcomes, in a country using a decimal currency such as dollars. In the management of currencies, decimalisation (or decimalization) is the process of converting from traditional denominations to a " Decimal " The dollar (often represented by the Dollar sign: "$" is the name of the official Currency in several countries dependencies and other Each outcome has a certain amount of money wagered:
| 1 | $30. 00 |
| 2 | $70. 00 |
| 3 | $12. 00 |
| 4 | $55. 00 |
| 5 | $110. 00 |
| 6 | $47. 00 |
| 7 | $150. 00 |
| 8 | $40. 00 |
Thus the total pool of money on the event is $514. 00. Following the start of the event, no more wagers are accepted. The event is decided and the winning outcome is determined to be Outcome 4 with $55. 00 wagered. The payout is now calculated. First the commission or take for the wagering company is deducted from the pool, for example with a commission rate of 14. 25% the calculation is: $514 × (1 - 0. 1425) = $440. 76. The remaining amount in the pool is now distributed to those who wagered on Outcome 4: $440. 76 / $55 = $8. 00 per $1. 00 wagered. Thus, in decimal odds, outcome 4 is said to pay out $8. Fixed-odds betting is a form of Wagering against Odds offered by a 00.
Often at certain times prior to the event, betting agencies will provide approximates for what should be paid out for a given outcome should no more bets be accepted at the current time. Using the wagers and commission rate above (14. 25%), an approximates table in decimal odds would be:
| 1 | $14. 69 |
| 2 | $6. 30 |
| 3 | $36. 73 |
| 4 | $8. 00 |
| 5 | $4. 00 |
| 6 | $9. 38 |
| 7 | $2. 94 |
| 8 | $11. 02 |
In real-life examples such as horse racing, the pool size often extends into millions of dollars with many different types of outcomes (winning horses) and complex commission calculations. This article is about the sport For other uses see Horserace (drinking game or Horse race (politics.
Sometimes the amounts paid out are rounded down to a denomination interval—in the United States and Australia, 10¢ intervals are used. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The rounding loss is sometimes known as breakage and is retained by the betting agency as part of the commission.
The above description of the mechanics of parimutuel wagering would suggest that it is impossible for the wagering company (the "house") to lose money, as the commission is deducted before the payouts are calculated. However, in rare circumstances, it is possible for the house to lose money on an event. This situation can occur when there are legal requirements for minimum winning payouts (for example, there may be a legal requirement to pay at least 10 cents on a winning one dollar wager). If the minimum legal winning payout exceeds the payout computed by the standard parimutuel mathematics by a sufficient amount, the house might lose money on this set of wagers.
In horse racing, a practical example of this circumstance might be when an overwhelming favorite wins. The parimutuel calculation results might call for a very small winning payout (say, two or three cents on a dollar bet), but the legal regulation would require a larger payout (e. g. , 10 cents on a dollar bet).
In an event with a set of n possible outcomes, with wagers W1, W2, …, Wn the total pool of money on the event is

After the wagering company deducts a commission rate of r from the pool, the amount remaining to be distributed between the successful bettors is WR = WT(1 − r). Those who bet on the successful outcome m will receive a payout of WR / Wm for every dollar they bet on it.
The parimutuel system was invented by Parisian perfume maker Joseph Oller in 1865 when asked by a bookmaker friend to devise a fair system for bettors that guarantees a fixed profit for the bookmaker. A bookmaker, bookie or turf accountant, is an organization or a person that takes bets and pays winnings depending upon results and depending on the nature
The large amount of calculation involved in this system led to the invention of a specialized mechanical calculating machine known as a totalisator, "automatic totalisator" or "tote board". A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information typically at a Race track (to display the odds or payoffs for each horse or at a The first was installed at Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland, New Zealand in 1913, and they came into widespread use at race courses throughout the world (the U. Ellerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand for Thoroughbred racehorses The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country S. introduction was in 1933 at Arlington Park, near Chicago, Illinois). History Arlington Park was founded by California businessman Harry D Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.
There may be several different types of bets, in which case each type of bet has its own pool. The basic bets involve predicting the order of finish for a single participant, as follows:
In Canada and the United States, the most common types of bet on horse races include:
Win, place and show wagers class as straight bets, and the remaining wagers as exotic bets. Bettors usually make multiple wagers on exotic bets. A box consists of a multiple wager in which bettors bet all possible combinations of a group of horses in the same race. A key involves making a multiple wager with a single horse in one race bet in one position with all possible combinations of other selected horses in a single race. A wheel consists of betting all horses in one race of a bet involving two or more races. For example a 1-all daily double wheel bets the 1-horse in the first race with every horse in the second.
People making straight bets commonly employ the strategy of an 'each way' bet. Here the bettor picks a horse and bets it will win, and makes an additional bet that it will show, so that theoretically if the horse runs third it will at least pay back the two bets. The Canadian and American equivalent is the bet across (short for across the board): the bettor bets equal sums on the horse to win, place, and show.
In Canada and the United States bettors make exotic wagers on horses running at the same track on the same program. In the United Kingdom bookmakers offer exotic wagers on horses at different tracks. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Probably the Yankee occurs most commonly: in this the bettor tries to pick the winner of four races. This bet also includes subsidiary wagers on smaller combinations of the chosen horses; for example, if only two of the four horses win, the bettor still collects for their double. A Trixie requires trying to pick three winners, and a Canadian or Super Yankee trying to pick five; these also include subsidiary bets. The term nap identifies the best bet of the day.
A parlay or accumulator consists of a series of bets in which bettors stake the winnings from one race on the next in order until either the bettor loses or the series completes successfully. A parlay or accumulator is a single bet that links together two or more individual Wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together
(Neither Tote Ireland nor the British Tote operates pools on racing in Northern Ireland. )
Depending on the facility rules, which might vary from event to event, other bets may also be offered which allow the user to pick the finishing position of more than one participant, or more than one event. These are called exotics, and, due to the much larger number of possible outcomes, generally pay higher dividends. However, the facility's take is usually higher for these bets as well. The major exotics (in North America and Australia) are:
Unlike many forms of casino gambling, in parimutuel betting the gambler bets against other gamblers, not the house. A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities The science of determining the outcome of a race is called handicapping. For "handicap" as it refers to disabled persons see Disability.
It is possible for a skilled player to win money in the long run at this type of gambling, but overcoming the deficit produced by taxes, the facility's take, and the breakage is difficult to accomplish and few people are successful at it.
Independent off-track bookmakers have a smaller take and thus offer better payoffs, but they are illegal in some countries. However, with the introduction of Internet gambling has come "rebate shops". Online gambling is a general term for Gambling using the Internet These off-shore betting shops in fact return some percentage of every bet made to the bettor. They are in effect reducing their take from 15-18% to as little as 1 or 2%, still ensuring a profit as they operate with minimal overhead. Rebate shops allow skilled horse players to make a steady income.
The recent WTO decision DS285 against the United States of America by the small island nation of Antigua opens the possibility for offshore horse betting groups to compete legally with parimutuel betting groups. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Antigua (ænˈtiːgə an-TEE-gah) is an Island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region the main