Born in Catalonia in the city of
Terrassa, Josep Oller emigrated to
France with his family as a child. Later, he relocated back to
Spain to study at the university in
Bilbao. There, he became fond of
cockfighting and started his career as a
bookmaker. Once in Paris, in 1867, Josep Oller invented a new method of wagering, which he named Pari Mutuel (
French for Parimutuel betting). He successfully introduced his pool method system at French race tracks. Nonetheless, in 1874, Josep Oller was sentenced to fifteen days in prison and fined for operating illegal gambling. Later, in 1891, the French authorities legalised his system and banned
fixed-odds betting. Quickly, Oller's Pari Mutuel spread across most
race tracks around the world, but the method was operationalised in engineered systems like that of the
automatic totalisator, invented by
George Alfred Julius. In 1870, he relocated to London for a while to avoid the
Franco-Prussian War. There he became acquainted with the business of drama. From 1876, Joseph Oller involved himself with the
entertainment industry. First he opened various auditoriums and venues: Fantaisies Oller, La Bombonnière, Théâtre des Nouveautés, Nouveau Cirque and the Montagnes Russes. During 1889 he co-inaugurated the famous
Moulin Rouge, together with
Charles Zidler. He was buried in Paris in the
Cemetery of Père Lachaise. == References ==