Punters who choose The Pools as their bookie of choice, or even as part of a portfolio, are choosing much more than a bookmaker.
This is one of the oldest names in betting in Britain, and unlike so many other long standing brands, it is still based in this country and steeped in history.
It also has a major unique selling point that literally no other bookmaker can match them on, and that is their traditional pool betting service.
There will be a history lesson on this later on, but the football pools was once a national past time, especially amongst the working classes, and is fondly remembered by those who were around at the time.
It is still very much in existence though, albeit digitally, and still offering millions of pounds in prizes, and The Pools is the place to go to experience it.
It has plenty to offer as a traditional bookmaker too of course, with loads of markets across a diverse sports list, plenty of promotions and free to play daily games, a busy sports news blog, and loads more.
- Football Pools – Only place where you can still play the official and original football pools
- Historic Company – UK based and steeped in history
- Loads of Promotions – Lots to keep you interested with bonuses and offers across all verticals
Sports Betting
To the average punter, The Pools probably offers a lot more than you would ever need, which surprised me, because usually with sites that have another focus (football pools in this case) they keep things a little more compact.
The Pools has gone all in though, offering the likes of Bangladeshi, Gambian and Syrian football, global horse racing including Japan and Argentina, Icelandic, Serbian and Indonesian basketball – you get the idea.
Basically, if there is sport being played even at a semi-professional level somewhere in the world, chances are you can bet on it at The Pools.
Their sport lists includes around 30 different categories, which is standard, but the depth within each category is astounding. That said, the number of betting lines for each event isn’t always huge, so you might not find lesser known bet types at The Pools, but for all of your standard stuff you are well covered and then some.
I have found the odds themselves to be middle of the road, and occasionally a bit on the low side when I have ventured into more obscure markets, but then that is to be expected as there is less demand in those areas so the bookie has to cover themselves.
Taking into account the various promotions, both long running ones like extra places as well as more topical offers, not to mention the free games you can get access to, there is much more value here than you might think at first.
The bottom line though, is that even if you only want to use The Pools as a traditional bookmaker and ignore all of their other products, it is actually a really good choice, because the range of sports, depth of market within those sports, and all-round value on offer makes them a real contender.
Betting Live
There is no live streaming at The Pools, so we can get that out of the way nice and early.
That said, in its place is one of the better digital game representations in the industry at the moment, complete with attractive visuals and loads of different stats and info.
You can see a live interpretation of what is going on complete with highlights, a breakdown of statistical information for the game so far, a timeline, head to head information, as well as a league table of competition fixtures and results depending on the event you are looking at.
It’s really detailed and lots of fun to use.
Heading back to the in-play betting interface, or the overview screen if you prefer to call it that, and you have a list of sports with the number of current live events on display, then the games themselves below.
You can select a specific sport or view the lot, minimise certain sports you aren’t interested in, and make bets on the winner from this screen too.
It has fewer options and features than some other bookies, but there is a lot of live betting available, with plenty of unique live markets too.
The Pools’ live betting service probably isn’t going to be the thing that attracts anyone to the site if I’m being totally honest, but it’s certainly a well-rounded and user friendly service for those that sign up for other reasons.
Football Pools
For anyone who doesn’t already know how it works, here is a quick lesson on betting on the Football Pools.
There are a few different games available, but all follow the same basic concept.
You are given a list of football games (or horse races in one particular game type), and must choose a set number of those games in which something will happen.
The Classic Pools is where you need to select 10 games from a list that will all feature a score draw; the Goal Rush games requires you to pick 8 games from a list in which both teams will score regardless of the result; then there are the Premier 6, 10 and 12, in which you need to pick the correct result from said number of games – home win, draw, or away win.
The prizes can be millions of pounds, but since it is a pool, your actual winnings in the event your predictions are correct will depend on how many other people won alongside you.
The range of game types at The Pools means there is something that should appeal to everyone, and because the games are so regular they often include matches from teams most people might not know much about, so anyone with a deep rooted interest in football and a wide breadth of knowledge could use that to their advantage.
It’s also possible to create your own syndicates across football, NHL, and horse racing, and using different bet types too – the 1×2 market, the BTTS market, correct score, place 6, win 6, etc.
You can get free bet tokens here sometimes with pretty large pools attached as well, so there is a lot to explore and the learning curve is very small if you have never played the pools before.
There might be a few other websites out there that offer something similar, but no one does it as well as The Pools.
Lotto and Casino
Most sportsbooks have a casino vertical these days, and to be honest, they are often much of a muchness.
They all have more games than anyone could possibly play in a lifetime, those games are always regularly updated and from top providers, and the casino interface is always much easier to navigate than the sportsbook because there is less navigation to do.
The Pools casino is a good one, no doubt, with loads of jackpots and different game types, including slingo, and a live casino.
It’s huge and won’t let you down if a bit of casino gaming is something you like to indulge in.
What I found more interesting about the site, was their Lotto games.
There are only a handful of them but they are the ‘Set for Life’ type games that the National Lottery also runs.
For between 50p and £2 you can take your chances on winning a set amount of money every month/year for the next few decades, or go for a lump sum up front.
I love these sorts of games, and what I like about their availability on a site that is also a bookmaker, is that you can use those piffly last few pounds or pence on something that could actually win you some decent money.
Sure the chances are miniscule, but it’s almost pointless placing a 50p bet on anything other than an acca (unless you enjoy betting small stakes, then all power to you), and the chances of landing one of them are probably fairly similar to the lottery.
Is The Pools a Good Bookie For You?
I really support bookmakers like The Pools, who offer something that is genuinely a bit different to most others.
With their various verticals spanning sports betting, pools, casino, and lottery style games, The Pools is a perfect fit for people who want more than just betting from their bookmaker.
It’s unlikely to be the long-term home of anyone who is a bettor down to their bones, the stats analysts and the number crunchers, but for punters who bet on common sports and markets who like to use a single site for everything, it’s brilliant.
Ideal for punters who like to explore more exotic leagues and competitions within popular sports categories too.
Obviously, the football pools are the biggest draw here, so if big prizes at small stakes appeal to you, I should imagine you will enjoy The Pools very much indeed.
Lastly, and I appreciate this probably isn’t the top of most bettor’s lists, but The Pools is still a UK based company. They haven’t relocated offshore for tax purposes, so punters that like to ‘buy British’ will be doing so at The Pools.
Payment Methods and Limits
| Method | Min Deposit | Min Withdrawal | Fees | Withdrawal Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debit Card | £5 | £10 | 0% | 2-5 Days |
| PayPal | £5 | £10 | 0% | 2-5 Days |
This can be a biggie for some bettors who have specific needs, so what I will say from the off is that The Pools isn’t one of those sites where you can deposit using a myriad of different payment methods.
Most people use a debit card anyway which is obviously accepted, and the addition of Paypal should satisfy anyone who doesn’t like giving out their actual bank details, but other than that, your options run dry.
My only real issue is with the withdrawal processing times. I don’t understand why it takes 2 days to process a withdrawal request let alone potentially 5 days, and yes it may well be quicker a lot of the time, but it would be very annoying if you had to wait almost a week for your money.
Apart from that rare occurrence though, the terms are fair and the limits at both ends won’t cause any problems to 99% of punters, only those with very deep pockets will need to contact support in order to deposit higher amounts.
When it comes to win limits it’s a little confusing, as the betting rules and terms and conditions both say different things – a £50k max win limit and a £250k max win limit, so it’s quite a difference.
They don’t list any sport specific limits though, which could mean they don’t have any, in which case the site wide max win limit would apply.
What is confirmed though, is their deposit protection level, which is medium. This is great news as it means they are doing more than required to protect player’s money in the event of the company going bust.
Customer Service, Help and Support
One thing you definitely get at The Pools, is options.
You can choose to contact the team via post, email, live chat, or phone (they do have Twitter but it’s not really for support), or equally, you could be a grown up and try to help yourself first by checking their Help section.
This is just an FAQ by another name, but it is split into really helpful categories and is very easy to search. It’s nice and colourful too, which is not an additional benefit but it shows they have taken some time on this area and not just thrown it up as an afterthought.
The answers are nice and concise so there’s not 10 minutes of scanning to do before you find what you want, and the team actually update this area if customers ask questions that have not already been answered.
If you do want to talk to someone, the customer service team work from 8.30am until 10pm Monday to Saturday, or Midday until 10pm on Sunday.
A lot of weight is out on 24/7 customer service these days, but I honestly can’t think of a single time when I have needed to contact a bookie after 10pm at night.
The other thing to mention is that the support team are UK based, at the HQ in Liverpool, so those miscommunications that can sometimes happen with support teams based offshore shouldn’t occur here.
The Website, Platform and Interface
In some ways, The Pools’ website is a little more complex than some others.
There are more products on offer here than at many bookmakers which is one reason for it, but I can’t help feel that they also tried to include too much too soon on the home page.
There are boxes with selections in them all over the place, and although it is very clean and tidy, it does take you a second to adjust and figure out where to look. There is no search function either, which is a strange omission.
Other little niggles, such as a horizontal scrolling bar being the exact same colour as some branding above it, mean it is not always obvious which parts of the page are interactive and which are not.
I also found myself at a dead end once or twice, mostly when using the pools and lotto products, where my only option was to hit the back button a few times or start again from the home page, so on occasion the fluidity of the user journey is derailed.
None of this is enough to make the site difficult to use, but there might be a few moments that make you frown the first time you use it.
Other than that, though, it’s a really nice interface to use – fast, soft calm colours, and mostly intuitive.
There are many ways to get to your bet thanks to a combination of helpful quick links, menus, and the A-Z list, and sub menus alongside collapsible options make it easy to filter from there. You need them too as the FSB powered platform offers an awful lot of options.
I like that the betslip doesn’t take up too much space (sometimes it’s almost a third of the page in width – why?), so that screen real estate can be put to better use.
Another nice touch is that the ability to change the way odds are displayed is right up at the top of the left-hand menu. You often have to dig around in the settings to find a way to change this, but it’s super simple at The Pools.
Thought has clearly been given to the user, despite a few small oversights. For example when searching within the football markets, the most popular competitions are listed above the complete list, to save time for anyone looking for Premier League or Bundesliga etc., and everything else is listed alphabetically for ease.
A few quirks then, but it will take you approximately 5 minutes to get used to them, and in terms of performance the website is solid.
Using the Mobile Website
The Pools don’t have an app to download, but their mobile website is just as good as an app.
What most people value in a sports betting app or mobile site, is for it to work as quickly as they do. You want the mobile site to be able to keep up with all of your taps and swipes without having to wait for it to register what you are doing, and you want it to be responsive to your selections.
The mobile sites of old could be a bit laggy, some of the newer shinier ones can actually move so quickly you feel like they are leading you, but at The Pools, the balance is perfect.
Betting on mobile with The Pools is about as enjoyable an experience as it is possible to find, and due to the redesign to make the site fit the smaller screen, a lot of those issues mentioned above have been solved too.
A footer menu gives access to the different betting products, making it really easy to jump from sports betting to the football pools, for example, and the A-Z is housed neatly under a little menu button that also contains access to customer services.
Two icons next to this are your gateways to banking and account management, and the rest of the screen is taken up by the various menus and betting markets relevant to the page you are on.
This is the area of the site that will change as you move through it, while the aforementioned elements are fixed in place, giving you a one tap route out of wherever you are at all times.
The betslip is kept out of the way until you are ready to open it too, rather than popping up every time you make a selection, offering more control to the user and allowing for multiple selection to be added without losing screen space.
I thought it was very well designed and structured, displaying all of the information in a way that makes sense and is easy to understand and navigate, with a lot of thought being given to the user.
About The Pools: History
Although they only launched an online sportsbook in 2019, The Pools dates all the way back to 1923, when John Moores, a businessman from Liverpool, founded Littlewoods with two colleagues.
Moores started offering a coupon-based football prediction game, allowing participants to predict the outcomes of a selection of football matches, and would hand out the coupons himself outside football grounds.
It was an unsteady start with a very low take up in the early years, leading his two co-founders to abandon the idea entirely, but John Moores pushed ahead with it.
The Football Pools then began to find its feet and quickly gained popularity as word spread, especially among working-class communities, as it provided an affordable and accessible way to win money during a time when other forms of gambling were restricted or frowned upon.
Competing businesses were even set up, but Littlewoods was always seen as the big one, and by 1930, Moores was a millionaire – and that was back when the term actually meant something!
As more and more people wanted to play, Littlewoods hired more and more staff to go from door to door collecting the tickets and the stakes, before sending them off to be sorted and checked. Indeed, to many, their ‘pools man’ was a neighbour or friend.
The weekly ritual of filling out football coupons became a tradition for millions, and people eagerly awaited the results which were printed in the newspaper for many years, such was the popularity of the competition. At the height of its popularity, more than 14 million people played each week.
The first win over £1,000,000 came in 1986, but not long after, the National Lottery was launched, and this put a huge dent in The Pools’ income. Most competitors closed their doors during the 1990s, and the ones that were left were bought up by bigger companies before dying out.
Littlewoods Pools was sold for just £161 million in 2000, to a company called Sportech, who also bought the other remaining pool companies and planned to relaunch them as a single competition.
This they did in 2008, under the collective name, The Football Pools, and although business ticked along, it never regained the popularity it had once enjoyed back in its heyday.
A decade on, and the company rebranded again, this time to simply, ‘The Pools’. They added a sportsbook, casino and lottery options to the site and brought it into the modern day. This is The Pools we know of today, and it has had quite a journey to get here.
Contact Details for The Pools
- Name: The Pools
- URL: www.thepools.com
- UK Licence ref/No: 48272
- Registered Company Name: Football Pools Limited
- Phone: 0800 500 000
- E-Mail: [email protected]
- Live Chat: Available onsite
- Twitter: @footballpools
- Registered Company address: Walton House, 55 Charnock Road,
LIVERPOOL, L67 1AA, United Kingdom (also for customer support)