pari-mutuel

• parimutuel

From French pari mutuel (“mutual bet”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpaɹiˈmjuːtʃʊəl/

pari-mutuel (plural pari-mutuels or paris-mutuels)

1. (horse racing) Any betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house take are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all placed bets. [from 19th c.]
   • 2008, Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff, The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life, W.W Norton & Company, p. 208:

     There is also a pari-mutuel option. You and a friend can wager that you will each lose 15 pounds over the next two months. If you both succeed, the money is returned. But if one fails while the other succeeds, then the loser pays the winner. If you both fail, then the one who loses the most is the winner.

2. A booth used to place such bets, or a machine used to record bets and calculate payoffs. [from 19th c.]
   • 1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 129:

     The Italian were full of manners and McAdams talked to Catherine while we went down to bet again. Mr Meyers was standing near the pari-mutuel.

• breakage