OLIVER L. Author
Last Updated: 9th May 2023
After working in the gambling industry for over a decade, Oliver spotted an opportunity to setup a resource for lottery bettors. CompareTheLotto.com was founded in 2014, with Bet49s.com and Bet49s.co.za following shortly after. The aim is to find the best odds, offers and information for lottery bettors.
Note: *The following article is purely for fun. It is based on individual opinions and does not constitute advice. The drawing of lottery numbers is entirely random. Please always gamble responsibly. #Ad. Find out more on our How Our Site Works page.
The Football Pools, or the Littlewoods Football Pool as it was originally known, is a proudly British brand dating back to 1923 and recognised nationally. The Classic Pool game involves predicting the scores of Football Games to win a share of £3M. In it’s heyday The Pools was played by 14 millions people each week and in many ways was a precursor to the National Lottery - bet small, win big. When the National Lottery was launched in 1994, The Football Pools saw their player numbers dwindle.
Today, The Football Pools are being re-branded as The Pools and their focus is very much switching towards lotto betting. In fact, the games they offer are going head to head with somewhat similar National Lottery products (although the Pools products aren't lotteries) in an effort to regain some of their lost market share.
The new products are:
The prizes are marketed as annuity prizes (e.g. win X for Y years), however, if you win the jackpot you are given the choice of annuity or lump sum. The prizes are always larger if you opt for annuity rather than lump sum - but the choice is yours.
Although The Pools is a bookmaker, these lotteries are ‘bet-on-jackpot’ variety - you must select all numbers, you can’t bet on just 1, 2 or 3 balls like when betting on the 49’s or Irish Lotto at other bookmakers. You are betting on the outcome of a lottery (Irish, New York or Pennslyvania) but The Pools are simply using these lotteries as random number generators - the prizes you win are from The Pools, not the lottery operator.
Let’s take a look at each of the new products in detail:
In a nutshell: 50p Bet to Win £50k/yr for 25 Years
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How To Play | Pick 5 numbers from 47 + 1 from 10 | Pick 6 numbers from 47 |
Price To Play | £1.50 | 50p |
Top Prize | £10k per month for 30 years | £50k per year for 25 years or £1,020,000 cash lump sum |
Annuity Top Prize Value: | £3.6m | £1.25m |
Odds of winning the top prize: | 1 in 15,339,390 | 1 in 10,737,573 |
Overall odds to win any prize: | 1 in 12.4 | 1 in 7 |
In a nutshell: £1 Bet To Win £100k/yr for 35 Years
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How To Play | Pick 5 numbers from 47 + 1 from 10 | Pick 6 numbers from 49 |
Price To Play | £1.50 | £1 |
Top Prize | £10k per month for 30 years | £100k per year for 35 years or £2,630,000 cash lump sum |
Annuity Top Prize Value: | £3.6m | £3.5m |
Odds of winning the top prize: | 1 in 15,339,390 | 1 in 13,983,816 |
Overall odds to win any prize: | 1 in 12.4 | 1 in 7 |
In a nutshell: £2 Bet to Win £1M/yr for 10 Years
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How To Play | Pick 5 numbers from 47 + 1 from 10 | Pick 5 numbers from 60 + 1 from 4 |
Price To Play | £1.50 | £2 |
Top Prize | £10k per month for 30 years | £1 million per year for 10 years or £9,370,000 cash lump sum |
Annuity Top Prize Value: | £3.6m | £10m |
Odds of winning the top prize: | 1 in 15,339,390 | 1 in 21,846,048 |
Overall odds to win any prize: | 1 in 12.4 | 1 in 6 |
We’re really impressed by the new products - as mentioned at the start, The Pools are staying loyal to their roots and are offering a chance to win big from a small stake. Very few lotteries are available that offer £1m+ prizes for a 50p stake.
"Very few lotteries are available that offer £1m+ prizes for a 50p stake"
The lotto betting products offered by The Pools are particularly well geared towards winning any prize - the Minted4Life draw has odds of 1 in 4 chance of winning any prize, compare this to the National Lottery (1 in 9) or the Irish Lotto (1 in 29) it’s fantastic.
The odds of winning the jackpot are also very good compared to other lotteries. For example, take a look at the Irish Lotto (which is often used as an example of good value lottery) next to Lucky4Life:
Irish Lotto | Lucky4Life | |
Odds Of Winning Jackpot | 1 in 10m | 1 in 10m |
Average Jackpot | £4m | £1.2m |
Stake | £2 | 50p |
Value based on stake size is comparable for Irish Lotto & Lucky4Life
We also love the flexibility The Pools offer by allowing the winner to decide if they want annuity or lump sum payment - a common feature in the US but not in the UK.
The only drawbacks we see are the frequency of the draws and the good cause contributions. The frequency is much less than other bet-on-lottos (e.g. 49s, Nifty Fifty and Lotto365) only being drawn a couple of times per week. The good cause contributions is something to consider if you’re deciding between The Pools and Set For Life - more details in the FAQs below.
Are there any promotions for new customers?
Unfortunately not. The Pools has offers for new customers on Sports and Casino but these aren’t available for Lotto betting.
Do I have to pay tax on winnings?
No. In the UK & Ireland there is no tax on gambling winnings.
Can I trust The Pools?
Absolutely. The Pools have been arround for 100 years (!) this year and operate a UK registered company (based in Liverpool) that is regulated by the UK gambling commission.
Good Causes
An important factor to note when comparing The Pools with the National Lottery is that The Pools is a bookmaker, rather than a lottery operator. This means The Pools aren’t required to donate money to good causes like the National Lottery is. See our good causes page for a detailed explanation.