Britbet Extend Their Partnership with The Tote Until 2030

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If you prefer placing Tote bets on the horses to traditional fixed odds wagers, then here’s some good news…

Britbet, the current supplier of Tote bets at more than 55 racecourses across the UK, has agreed a deal that will extend their partnership with the pool betting operation until 2030.

However, at the time of writing, the 16 Arena Racing Company owned racecourses – which include Chepstow, Doncaster and Newcastle – have not yet agreed to allow Britbet onto their concourses.

Jump In the Pool

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Britbet operate tote betting on 55 courses around Britain

After initially agreeing a deal back in 2018, Britbet has been taking Tote pool bets ever since at some of the UK’s premier racecourses and meetings, including the Grand National, Cheltenham Festival and Epsom Derby.

It’s thought that the firm take in the region of six million bets each year, which has helped to breathe new life into pool betting domestically and helped to facilitate the World Pool days, which continue to grow in stature.

Now, Britbet Racing and the UK Tote Group have strengthened ties by putting pen to paper on a deal that will see their collaboration continue until 2030.

The two parties will continue in their current roles, with Britbet managing on-course services at more than 50 locations across the UK – the Jockey Club, as well as chiefs at some of the leading independent tracks, have confirmed that they will continue to offer Tote-branded pool bets.

The Tote Group, meanwhile, will continue to on the size and scale of their pooled operations, which reached new highs for British Champions Day back in October with more than £48 million wagered around the world.

There were fears that the best days of pool betting were over as a series of operators, including Betfred, struggled to breathe new life into the format.

However, the current set-up between Britbet and the Tote Group appears to be working, with on-course turnover enjoying a 26% increase, year on year, in 2024 thanks, in part, to the enhanced liquidity – permed from an increasing customer base of up to 100,000 active customers – and payouts that punters are able to take advantage of.

The introduction of the Tote Guarantee, which sees payouts on win bets match or exceed the bookmakers’ starting price (SP) on selected races, has also been considered a big success.

The initial seven-year deal they agreed in 2018 was due to run out this year, but the success of the £50 million venture has prompted the extension to be green lit.

The ability to take bets at the leading racecourses has been vital to that improved performance, although the ongoing absence of ARC tracks from the schedule – talks are ongoing between the Arena Racing Company, Britbet and the UK Tote Group – continues to hurt the potential of domestic pool betting in particular.

Nevertheless, there’s a bullishness about the future – as confirmed by Tote Group chief executive Alex Frost.

“This is another significant moment in the evolution of the modern Tote as we work with our partners across British racing and around the world to rejuvenate pool betting in the UK and Ireland,” he said.

“We are delighted to have agreed a second long-term partnership with leading British racecourses, allowing us to work together to develop the digital and racecourse customer experience to ensure we are offering racing fans a competitive and appealing experience when betting with the Tote.”

How to Bet on The Tote

Tote LogoIf you head to a UK racecourse, there’s every chance you’ll see the Tote or Britbet branding plastered around the place.

If you don’t want to wager with the on-course bookmakers, the Tote kiosks offer a number of different bet types and ways to win.

Win only bets are fed into the central pool, with your payout – should your selection be successful – calculated by taking your stake size as a proportion of the overall pool. Sometimes, the payout is higher than traditional betting, sometimes it’s less… taking those races with the Tote Guarantee in place is a useful starting point.

There’s other bet types available with the Tote, including the Exacta – betting on the horses you think will finish 1-2 in that exact order – and Trifecta, where the object is to back the perfect 1-2-3.

The Placepot requires you to pick horses to place in the six races on the card, while the Quadpot asks likewise specifically in races two to six.

The size of the payout differs for the Placepot depending upon the odds of the horses that make the frame. At the Dante Festival in York back in May, a string of outsiders placed to leave one punter £28,000 richer… the very next day at the meeting, a punter won the Placepot for a return of just £32 per £1 staked.