Full The Pools Bookmaker Review
I was ready to laugh off The Pools a bit. It’s one of those things that I remember vaguely when I was younger, and would hear about, but by that time sports betting was becoming more popular, moving online and fantasy football seemed far more prescient. It all felt a bit old-fashioned.
Joining, logging on, and getting a taste of The Pools, I expected to feel the same, but the more I explored the product, the more different sports I looked at, the more impressed I got with what was on offer.
The downside is the lack of market depth, and only live streaming for horse racing and greyhounds, but the odds are great across the board, and most sports are covered in some way or another. The real strengths on top of that are, their free bets, free to play games, and in-play betting.
The Pools Review Summary
Fantastic in-play service and for punters who love the live action, The Pools is a must.
Advantages and Disadvantages
All explained in greater detail in this review, these pros and cons allow users to scan and understand where the strengths lie quickly.
Pros
- Free bets on every UK horse race
- Weekly free bet promotions
- Footie5 £25k free to play game
Cons
- Not a lot of live streaming options
Who are The Pools?
The Pools is the original sports betting company, with over a century of paying out billions of pounds to football-loving punters. The Football Pools isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be, and The Pools has added a sportsbook and casino to its service, but the iconic name lives on.
First Impression of The Pools
My First Impressions
This review will reflect the service offered at the time of writing. I signed up on the desktop version of The Pools, but also used the mobile version to compare, but there is no app to download.
Given the historical nature of The Pools, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the site would be archaic or clunky. A better way of looking at it is that this is a business with more than a century of experience, and so must be doing something right.
Unlike other sportsbooks, the non-Pools part of the product isn’t front and centre, and is found from the “Sports” option in the main menu at the top.
- Luke Bradshaw Lee, Senior Sports Betting Editor
Win Up to £3million Weekly on the Pools
Score the maximum 24 points from your best 8 selections to win the jackpot on the football pools. Easy entry and costs from only £1
Live Betting
The live betting at The Pools is nice. Head to their “Live Now” section and you’ll see all their in-play markets. At the time of review there is some football, tennis, esports, cricket, table tennis and a few others – it’s a broad selection overall.
The in-play graphics are very good indeed. For a football game there is plenty of stats, live ball tracking, squads, standings and more. And if you don’t want any of it, you can collapse it all and just see the markets. It’s a similar story for tennis and snooker, with all of it supplied by StatsScore.
Overall, The Pools doesn’t quite make our list of best bookmakers for in-play betting, but they are not far off, and it’s still an excellent part of the The Pools product.
Live Streaming
As it stands The Pools doesn’t offer any live streaming of events.
Betting Odds
After looking through some comparison sites – OddsChecker and a few others – as well as a deeper dive across alternative bookmakers, I can see that the odds offered at The Pools are okay. They are neither market-leading, nor something to be concerned about, just what you’d expect and be happy with. We checked football, tennis and table tennis for in-play odds, plus horse racing and a few other sports for pre-match stuff. Their horse racing odds look the pick of the bunch, with good value across a good number of the day’s meets.
Also, remember that it is always worth checking alternative betting options, including best spread betting sites and betting exchange sites, depending on who you are as a bettor.
Betting App or Mobile Site
There is no app, and the mobile version of the site works much in the same way as the desktop version. The major difference is that the sidebar, that runs down the left-hand side on the desktop, is split between a collapsable menu from the top, and an added section below the carousel above the fold. It’s not the cleanest way of doing things, and does take a little getting used to – trying to find the A-Z sports took me longer than expected, for example – but once you’ve done it once, it all starts making sense. See how it compares to the best betting apps in the UK.
⚽ Football Betting
First off, you can still play the classic version of the Pools, that being picking football fixtures to end in a score draw. It’s a very difficult game to win, similar to the lottery (not as long-range odds as that), but is a very specific type of bet. Essentially, you’re picking a 10+ match result acca, with all bets being on score draws.
Win up to £1million with a BTTS Acca With near-miss prizes and a jackpot for picking the first games to see both sides score take your BTTS betting to the next level
On top of that, The Pools has added additional games, but in the same style. Their Goal Rush is a simpler, eight-leg version where you need to pick just BTTS markets, and Premier Six involves picking the result in six selected matches. There is also Premier 10 and Premier 12.
You can of course, just bet on football like any other sportsbook – it’s completely up to you – and you can compare it to other football betting sites, or see in the chart below what it's up against.
Tap or mouseover chart elements for more info. Pinch to zoom.
Bet Builder
There’s an absolute load of markets within their bet builder feature – called “Create a bet” on The Pools. There’s a decent enough selection of markets within this, although I like to see a few more (there are no player fouls committed, or player tackles), but to be honest, these might be added closer to the time.
Bonuses
As well as the welcome offers, plus some casino offers, too, there are a couple of football promotions to consider. Most of these involve money back or free bets back based on your bets eg a £10 free acca if you place two or more accas during the week.
Cash Out
Cash out is a very important betting feature for punters these days so it's crucial that bookies integrate this feature into their mobile betting apps. The Pools have done this well, allowing their customers to instantly cash out their bets on any device they like.
🏇 Horse Racing
The horse racing section at The Pools is very good. There’s the usual selection of Winner, Each Way, Forecast and Tricast, all at impressive odds. There are extra places on selected races too. Compare them to the best horse racing betting sites.
🇺🇸 US Sports Betting
A full range of American Sports is available. Of the major leagues in the US, there’s no MLB season currently, but it’s good to see some futures and outrights, regardless.
🏈 American Football Betting
I don’t like the fact that it’s just the moneyline (match result) odds shown on the main page. Ideally, I’d like the three main game lines listed from the off (moneyline, spread and total). You get these once you click into the event, but it’s a miss. And if you are just going to have one first off, it should really be the spread. I’d also like to see more markets within the game – I can’t see any player props, for example, but it’s worth checking out our best NFL betting sites to see how The Pools compares overall.
🏀 Basketball Betting
The Pools has a really good selection of basketball leagues and competitions to bet on. There’s obviously the NBA, but The Pools covers a wide range of EuroLeague and domestic world competitions, also. I expected Italy, Greece and Spain, but it’s also good to see leagues in Uruguay, Israel and The Philippines and others. I can’t see much in the way of outrights, or player markets, so perhaps the depth isn’t as good as the width, but I still like it nonetheless. You also get StatsScore graphics for in-play events. Keep tabs on the top basketball betting sites though, to see if they make it onto our list.
⚾ Baseball Betting
The Pools’s baseball section is fine, but it’s a bit difficult to tell right now given the lack of games. The markets that they do have for games are decent aside from that, and the odds on MLB outrights look as good value as anywhere else.
🏒 Ice Hockey Betting
The NHL takes up the bulk of space here, as expected. But there are also some Danish, German, and Kazak fixtures included. I selected an upcoming NHL game and there 12 markets listed, which is okay. For the smaller leagues that reduces a bit more, which is understandable. Overall, I think this is a fairly standard offering.
🐕 Greyhound Betting
You can live stream greyhound racing on The Pools (alongside horse racing). They have a full offering of UK and Irish races, and of the four different meets I saw, three of them featured live streaming (all clearly visible with a green play icon on each). You can sort through quick picks, build a racecard or go through their ante post markets.
🎯 Darts Betting
Matthew Edgar
Darts Editor and WDF Professional
In terms of darts betting sites in the UK, The Pools is a very decent option. There are markets for the Bahrain Darts Masters, European Tour, and Modus Series, and the upcoming Premier League, with an okay selection of markets within. When betting on darts I often shop around for different lines, as the odds here are as competitive as anywhere else I would normally use, which is great to see.
Compare to the best darts betting sites in the UK.
Snooker Betting
Steve Madgwick
Editor-In-Chief
As with the best snooker betting sites, there are markets for a few different tournaments, including the World Championships, the Masters and World Grand Prix. If I’m being honest there aren’t a huge amount of markets within each contest, most have four or five of the main ones – result, handicap, correct score and total frame markets – but I’d like to see some more, things like race to (frames) or any more novelty bets like odd/even total frames etc. That said, the odds here are really good.
Compare to the best snooker betting sites in the UK.
🏉 Rugby Betting (Union & League)
By Luke Bradshaw Lee - This is pretty solid from The Pools. Obviously there are Six Nations outrights, alongside the Gallagher Premiership, Champions Cup, URC and Top 14. But there’s also the French D2, which you don’t see everywhere, and even some Japanese club rugby, which is very difficult to find. There aren't loads of markets within, but I am very impressed with the event coverage.See how they compare to our best Rugby betting sites here.
🏏 Cricket Betting
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
This is pretty good, all things considered. Ideally I’d like to see some more markets within the events covered, but there’s a decent amount competitions. The odds are really good, and this is probably somewhere I’ll look to when searching for value in my cricket betting, but that’s only if the markets are listed, because there are definitely some missing here that I could find elsewhere.
We list the 10 best cricket betting sites here.
🎾 Tennis Betting
By James Banting - Overall, I think the tennis betting at The Pools is nice, and I particularly like their in-play offering. The odds are really good and I love the stats provided. If they could add in more markets, and some tennis-specific promotions, they’d definitely be closer to getting into the top 10 tennis betting sites on OLBG.
🏌️ Golf Betting
By James Banting - In terms of upcoming tournaments, this does look about as good as you would want, with lesser competitions – such as the Sentry Tournament of Champions – listed among odds for the majors, Ryder and Solheim Cups. On top of that, you can select specific holes, see their layout, and how the current players on that hole are going round. Generally, it’s all pretty excellent, and I’ll be coming back.
🏎️ Motorsports Betting
Andy Powell
Content Editor
Motor Sports bettors should be happy with the mixture of events at The Pools. Understandably, the F1 grand prix takes up a bulk of the real estate, although it’s worth knowing that it doesn’t have its own tab and is housed within the “Motor Sport” section. You’ll you’ll also find Formula E, MotoGP, NASCAR, Daytona and Speedway. F1 is definitely the deepest here, which should come as no surprise, with plenty of markets and driver specials for the next Grand Prix of the season.
Compare to the best motorsport betting sites.
🥊 Boxing Betting
Frank Monkhouse
Boxing Editor
There’s a really good amount of boxing bouts to get stuck into here, and the markets look dependent on timings. Those this weekend and over the next few weeks have a pretty good selection, but the further away they get the less markets on offer. That’s understandable, and I wouldn’t expect to find round by round and the like for fights that are months away. Overall, I think this is all fairly standard, and I’d revisit closer to the time of a bout that I want to bet on.
Compare to the best boxing betting sites.
Other Sports Betting
Whilst these sports might sound very niche, there is a massive market for fans, and millions of them in the UK, so good coverage of niche sports and events is key to be reviewed on OLBG.
Other Sports at The Pools 🌍🏀🏐🚴🎮
The Pools offers diverse betting options: handball 🏆, volleyball 🏐, cycling 🚴, Aussie rules 🏉, and esports 🎮. Explore global matches, detailed stats, and infinite markets.
The Pools offers extensive betting options for Handball, volleyball, cycling, AFL betting, and esports. Handball includes global competitions; volleyball,covers European Championships and various tournaments; cycling features future tours and current races; AFL betting has comprehensive stats and esports offers all major games like League of Legends and CS:GO.
🗳️ Political Betting
Nigel Skinner
Blog Content Manager
This is pretty solid, but nothing incredible. There is decent enough event coverage for UK and US politics, including General Elections, next party leaders and next Prime Minister, with similar markets for the US. But it stops there. There are no by-election or local betting markets, or nothing from anywhere else in the world.
Compare to the best political betting sites.
🎭 Entertainment and Specials Betting
Jake Ashton
Senior News Editor
This is pretty poor. There’s a market for Dancing on Ice, but that’s it. No other TV shows, no sports awards shows, no usual quirky type stuff (the next James Bond, for example) and, most surprisingly, none of the big film/TV awards odds such as the Oscars, Baftas or Emmys.
Compare to the best entertainment betting sites.
Casino
The Pools does have casino. Despite the name of the brand, it's incredibly easy to find their casino offering from their sportsbook, with banners across the top. They also have some bonuses and offers that lead to casino spins should you win sportsbook bets. Check our Casino Sites page for dedicated new online casinos and slot sites.
You can also check out OLBG’s latest addition; our Best Bingo Sites. All of which are, obviously, sites fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
Account Opening Process
A very easy process. At the top-right of the screen The Pools has their “Join” button. Bettors just need to select this and follow the simple steps as guided through. You’ll be asked for the usual information – name, date of birth, address etc – and once complete be sent a verification email. Clicking this from your inbox will redirect you to the site, and then you’re free to get betting.
Navigation and user experience [desktop v mobile]
Overall I think I prefer the desktop version of the site than the mobile. It just feels like the content included has a bit more space to breathe. On top of that, The Pools goes very heavy on in-play stats and graphics and I think these are also a bit better on desktop, because you can still see markets moving at the same time. There some getting used to moving between The Pools and The Football Pools as the latter is the older, classic version of their game, with the former their actual sportsbook.
Placing a bet
This section should only really highlight if there are issues, as the process is almost identical on every site. Within a few minutes of signing up to The Pools I placed a couple of bets on different sports, one of which took advantage of the welcome offer, and I used their bet builder feature, which was very indeed.
Managing your account
As mentioned above, the design really helps this along. On the desktop version, it’s stuff to the left of the screen. I haven’t experienced any issues logging in, or finding customer service options, either. Overall, it feels like The Pools has got this part nailed.
Responsible Gambling Features
You can set your deposit limit while you’re signing up; long before you’ve got close to actually making a bet.
There is also a Settings tab at the bottom of the page, no matter what page you’re on, that allows you to make changes to limits, as well as odds formats, or odds change preferences/notifications.
There are the following measures within its functionality:
All are explained in further detail on their safer gambling page. As well as this, on the same page they list links to the likes of the National Gambling Helpline, Be Gamble Aware and the National Gambling Treatment Service.
Responsible Gambling
There is a full suite of responsible gambling tools for your protection and may request further identification after certain depositing levels are exceeded or stakes are increased quickly.
Bookie Review Expert Contributing Team
OLBG Expert Review Team
This review was conducted by our expert team. Our dedicated review process guide provides a full description of the undertaking.
How OLBG reviews betting sites
Opinion, research and data collection for this review by
James Banting (Horse Racing, Golf and Tennis)
Nigel Skinner (Football and Politics),
Matt Edgar (Darts)
Frank Monkhouse (Boxing)
Andrew Powell (Horse Racing, Ice Hockey and Motor Sports)
Jake Ashton (Entertainment and Specials)
🛂 Fact Checked - Sam Darkens - Commercial Manager
✍️ Written by - Luke Bradshaw Lee - Commercial Content Manager
✏️📚 - Steve Madgwick - Editor-In-Chief
