Tote Review

Who are the Tote?

Established in 1928 under the guidance of a Winston Churchill-led government, the Tote started life solely as a pool betting operator (more on that below). Initially known as the Racehorse Betting Control Board (RBCB), the new initiative was designed to give punters a safe, legal place to bet.

Renamed the Horserace Totalisator Board (Tote for short) in 1961, the business remained under government control until it was sold to Betfred for £265m in 2011. In 2019, Betfred sold the Tote to the UK Tote Group consortium – a group of 150 individual investors, many of whom are involved in the horseracing industry.

Landmark events throughout the Tote’s history include the opening of its first high street shops in 1973 and the online launch in 2002. 2020 then saw the old totesport website retired and replaced by the modern, far superior Tote.co.uk. In 2026, the Tote offers pool betting on UK and Irish horse racing and greyhounds, a traditional odds sportsbook, and casino gaming.

Are Tote’s odds any good?

Horse racing punters have a choice of two odds formats at the Tote. Selecting the “Horse Racing” tab takes you to the Tote pool betting markets. In Tote pool betting, all the stakes placed on a race are collected in a pool. The Tote then takes a cut (the equivalent of a traditional bookmaker's margin). Finally, the remaining pool is divided among all winning bets and returned as a dividend to a £1 stake. A guide price is shown beside each runner indicating the dividend value at the time you place the bet.

One of the big selling points of betting at Tote odds is the excellent Tote Guarantee. Under the Tote Guarantee, if the industry SP is bigger than the Tote return, you will be paid out at SP. Where the Tote really stands out is in forecast and tricast betting. The Tote’s forecast bet, known as the Exacta, and tricast bet, known as the Trifecta, frequently offer much better value than the Computer Straight Forecast and Computer Straight Tricast returns.

The “Sports” tab takes you to fixed odds markets for horse racing and many other sports. The traditional odds are a little easier to compare with the competition. To check out the value on offer, I looked at the odds for the opening round of Premier League fixtures for the 2026/27 season. Focusing on the match result market, the Tote offered the outright or joint-best price on at least one outcome in eight of the ten games I looked at – an excellent result.

Is the Tote welcome offer good value?

Tote offers a quick, easy, and great-value welcome offer. Simply sign up, deposit, and place a bet of £5 or more at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater within seven days of opening your account. When your qualifying bet is settled, you get £10 in Tote Credit and a £10 Free Sports Bet. You can use your £10 Tote Credit on any UK or Irish racing bet. As for the £10 Free Sports Bet, you can use that on any sports market you like.

The Tote welcome offer falls a little short compared to some competitors, e.g. Coral’s Bet £5 to Get £30 in Free Bets. However, it measures up well against other bet-and-get deals, e.g. the Bet £10 and Get £10 in Free Bets available with BetGoodwin and QuickBet.

Football Betting

The Tote football section is a match for most of the biggest operators. Clicking the A-Z list reveals close to 200 leagues and competitions, including everything from the big guns of the Premier League and La Liga to the Guatemala Primera División de Ascenso, if that takes your fancy.

The impressive choice continues when selecting an individual game. Looking at the Arsenal vs Coventry City game around two weeks before the start of the season, I counted close to 150 markets, including a wide range of match result, handicap, corners, goals, and combo punts, plus time-based bets that you don’t find at every betting site, e.g. Match Result after 55 minutes. Whatever market I looked at, the Tote odds were well up to scratch, regularly matching the joint-best market price for at least one option.

The slick and easy-to-use Tote Bet Builder includes all of the Match Result, Corners, Cards, and Scorer markets you would expect, plus match stats options such as team shots, player shots, and player tackles.

The pick of the promos for football punters is the weekly Acca Rewards offer, which gives you a £5 Free Acca Bet for placing £25 worth of sports accas. And keep an eye on the Price Boosts tab for enhanced odds on the biggest games.

Like many UK betting sites, the Tote does not offer football live streaming. However, the in-play area does a decent job of bringing the action to life with an infographic pitch display, team stats, and a play-by-play commentary.

Horse Racing Betting

The big selling point of the horse racing area is the easy access to the Tote markets, ranging from the simple Win and Place bets to the more exotic Swingers (pick two horses to finish anywhere in the first three places), and the popular Placepots, Jackpots, and Scoop6. With the Tote Guarantee in place, there isn’t much potential downside to betting at Tote pool odds, particularly if you place your bet close to the start of the race.

Unfortunately, for those who prefer fixed odds betting, the Tote does not offer Best Odds Guaranteed. For a site built on a pool betting model, the fixed odds stack up pretty well. When assessing a Monday afternoon meeting at Ayr, the Tote fixed odds were broadly in line with the market for all eight races, with a healthy scattering of joint-best prices.

The Tote has greatly improved its multiple bet offering in recent years. Previously only an option for fixed-odds bettors, you can now place Patents, Yankees, Lucky 15s, etc. at Tote odds, provided all selections are at the same meeting.

The Tote delivers in the live streaming department. All UK and Irish races are available to watch for registered customers who have made at least one deposit since opening their account.

Sports Betting

The Tote sports menu included 27 sports and events at the time of review. That’s a little less than some of the more all-encompassing sites, such as bet365.

The popular betting sports of tennis, cricket, basketball, and greyhounds join horse racing and football at the head of the menu. Further down the list, the other major US sports are covered in depth, alongside golf, MMA, boxing, darts, and more.

Away from the excellent football and horse racing areas, the Tote is a rock-solid option for tennis and cricket fans.

Tennis betting punters can access markets from the ATP, WTA, UTR, and Challenger Tours. In addition to the standard match result, set betting, and handicap markets, many matches feature a Tennis Bet Builder. The Tote is one of my top options for in-play tennis betting, with the match stats and bird’s-eye visualiser doing a nice job of portraying the action.

The Cricket area includes an impressive nineteen competitions, ranging from the big hitters of the Indian Premier League, The Hundred, T20 Blast, and County Championship, to smaller tournaments like the Caribbean Premier League and Tamil Nadu Premier League. Before settling on your cricket bet, the Tote Price Boosts are well worth checking out.

Tote Payment Methods

The Tote takes a streamlined approach to payments. UK players can deposit and withdraw via Visa, MasterCard, Electron, or Maestro debit cards, or Apple Pay. The minimum deposit for all methods is £5.

FAQs