How does The Global Tote work?
The Global Tote is a revolutionary online betting system that brings racing markets from around the world together into a single, wholesale pool. But what makes it different from other totes, and is it everything it is cracked up to be? Let’s find out.
What is the Global Tote?
The Global Tote represents a brand new approach to parimutuel betting at online bookmakers. It brings together all the money wagered at betting operators all over the world to create a one-stop ‘wholesale tote’ for racing markets.
What does that actually mean? Let’s say we were betting on the Melbourne Cup. With the Global Tote, all bets placed on that market worldwide go into the same pool. Punters from Australia, the UK, the US, Europe, Asia – all over the world – can bet on the same markets at the same prices and get paid from the same pot.
Global Tote betting is not restricted to horse racing and greyhounds. As a modern, new-age take on the totalisator, there are no limits on the size and scale of a market and the number of entrants. That means it can handle major international sports betting events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France, the US Masters, or Wimbledon.
Which online bookies offer Global Tote markets?
At the time writing, a handful of internet bookies and betting media agencies have partnership agreements with the Global Tote. The most exciting of these for punters is Neds.com.au and Ladbrokes, which are now going through the details of integrating the service into their systems.
While the early form at Topbetta is very promising, the bookie does not have the marketshare or the client base of other, bigger hitters in the Australian gambling industry. It remains to be seen whether this will have an impact on Global Tote odds in the long run.
Neds and Ladbrokes is a different story. When the Global Tote is launched, it will give Aussie punters access to betting pools shared by their entire customer base sall over the world. That could mean racing markets that not only blow existing totes out of the water, but which may also eclipse fixed odds betting on horses, greyhounds, or even mainstream sports.
Global Tote racing odds at Topbetta.com
A few different of online bookies have signed on with the Global Tote, but Topbetta.com.au was the first to integrate the system into its Australian racing products. It went live on May 4, 2017, making its debut at the Warrnambool Cup carnival and the Albion Park greyhounds.
- Global Tote Top
Best dividend out of the Global Tote, NSW TAB, S-TAB and Tatts on thoroughbred racing. - Global Tote Mid
Middle dividend from the three major totes, unless the Global Tote price exceeds them.
Why Global Tote betting is good for punters
The rise of online bookmakers and fixed odds betting has made existing Australian tote markets somewhat uncompetitive. The TAB and Tatts totes take out between 17 per cent and 25 per cent from the pool before paying out dividends, which significantly reduces their capacity to post top odds.
By contrast, the Global Tote takes out a maximum of 12 per cent. That leaves more money in the pool for the lucky winners – which, in theory, means better odds on win and place markets.
While it is early days yet, the Global Tote is already making a big impression with Australian punters. On debut at Warrnambool, it offered better payouts than the TAB tote for eight of the 10 winners. That was also the case in nine of 11 races at the Albion Park greyhounds that same day. In those 21 races, the TAB paid higher odds on only one occasion. The numbers from Albion also showed the GT consistently outperformed UBET.
How to bet on the Global Tote
Betting on Global Tote racing markets is much like placing any other tote or fixed odds bet at an online bookmaker. The service is not yet available on all Australian horse and greyhound races, however, so it helps to know what to look for when betting on the GT for the first time.
- If you are not already a member, take two minutes to sign up at Topbetta and put some cash in your account.
- Head to the ‘Racing’ section.
- In the left-hand menu, the blue Global Tote logo – ‘GT Top’ for horse racing and ‘GT Mid’ for greyhounds – denotes all upcoming meets for which the service is available.
- In the market view for each race, the Global Tote odds for win and place bets are listed in the last two columns on the right-hand side.