The Tote is one of the oldest and most famous betting institutions that exist in the UK. It was back in the 1920s that it was originated by a certain Winston Churchill. It is still going strong to this day and in fact, has just recently had a bit of a makeover.
The new Tote.co.uk
Formerly operational as Totesport, 2020 has seen the shift in re-branding to the new Tote.co.uk website which is wonderfully vibrant and accessible. The Tote was acquired in October 2019 by the UK Tote Group and that has given the digital pools betting experience the new injection of life.
The website is very quick to operate and jumping between the products and scanning through the racecards lends itself to some quick betting. It is just straight forward, functional pools betting at its best.
Tote Welcome Bonus Up to £10*
The Tote is offering Up to a £10 Bet Bonus as a welcome offer for new customers. Place your first £10 tote bet on the website and if the wager loses, the operator will give you your lost stake back. As cash. Maximum refund is £10.
UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Place your first bet on sports pools and if it loses Tote will refund your stake in cash. Max refund is £10. Qualifying bet is the first sports pool bet added to the betslip. Ten to Follow bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. Full T&Cs apply.
Tote Guarantee**
Bettors will also see a Tote Guarantee offer that the website runs. They are always SP or better on all UK races so you will never be beaten by an SP. Basically, if the pool dividend pays more, then you get a bigger payout.
**Tote Guarantee
Tote.co.uk customers only. Promotion applies to Totewin bets only and covers all UK races. £500 max stake. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org (Full T&C’s apply).
What is Tote betting?
Betting on the Tote is much the same as any other regular betting that a punter would do. The crux of it is that if your bet wins, you get paid out. However, with the Tote, you are not betting directly against a bookmaker.
Any money bet goes into a collective pool. Out of that, the Tote takes their operational cut and then money will be paid out to winners (based on their stakes) from the remainder of the pool.
The closest similarity is that of a sweepstake, perhaps something that goes around the office at Grand National time. But only at the Tote, you get to pick your horse in a given race of course.
Popular Tote features remain
The most popular features at the Tote are all there still in place. Here is a look at the big ones:
Ten To Follow
This was what the re-branding at the new site was kicked off with. The Ten To Follow is a bit like fantasy horse racing. You select ten horses to build your stable with and across the National Hunt season, those horses will earn you points for their performances.
There is a paid version of the game and a free to play version. Both have prize funds and in the paid version there is a guaranteed minimum of £250,000. Private leagues can also be created.
Placepot
The popular placepot on the Tote can still be played. This is where a horse is selected to place in each of the first six races of the day from a designated meeting. If all of your selections place then you get a share of the pool on offer. This is the most popular bet on the Tote. The average placepot pay-out in 2019 was over £450 per unit (£1).
Scoop6
This is the Tote product with the big jackpots in it which can swell up over £1 million. The Tote.co.uk nominates six races and to play, a horse has to be selected to win in each of those six races. A smaller win (compared to selecting six winners) can be landed by having all six selections place. In 2019, The Tote saw one customer win £643,903.40 after placing just a £2 stake. The Scoop6 runs every Friday and Saturday.
Live Streams
There are live racing streams to be enjoyed at Tote.co.uk as well and they cover all UK and Irish racing. To get access to the streams you just have to be a depositing customer with them and you can stream as much as you like. You don’t have to place a bet on a race to be able to watch it.
