Betfred is the winning bidder for the Tote
3 June 2011
UK-based bookie Betfred has actually been chosen to purchase the Tote after an auction procedure that began in November.
BBC business editor Robert Peston stated Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt had actually chosen Betfred although the bet9ja's welcome offer had actually not been finished, with some technicalities still being sorted out.
The rate is not yet understood but Betfred is believed to have bid about ₤ 200m.
Half of the cost will go to the racing industry and racing charities, and the majority of the rest will go to the federal government.
The racing industry may be disappointed, due to the fact that it was understood to have preferred the rival quote from SIP, a consortium led by British Airways chairman Martin Broughton.
Successive federal governments have actually been trying to privatise the Tote for about 14 years, but have actually never come this promotion code close to doing so.
The federal government is hoping that the deal will not fall nasty of EU state aid guidelines or be reversed by a judicial review.
Jockey opposition
The Tote was established 83 years ago to offer a safe house for punters, managed by the state, and beyond the reach of illegal bookies.
It takes pleasure in a monopoly of horse race pool-betting in exchange for an assurance that cash was pumped back into the sport.
The Tote is based in Wigan, with more than 4,000 personnel, and presently injects half its earnings into racing.
In 2015, Chancellor George Osborne guaranteed to protect value for taxpayers while identifying the support the Tote provided to the industry.
The Tote offered nearly ₤ 19m to horse racing in 2010.
Efforts over the past 3 years to sell the Tote struck issues, and the federal government faces getting a lower cost than the yohaig code ₤ 400m mooted in 2007.
The Jockey Club opposes the sale and desires the Tote to stay independent.
The Tote has 517 High Street betting shops and the monopoly to run swimming pool wagering online and at 60 racecourses in the UK.
