Horseracing Authorities Back New Tote Idea

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has indicated to the Department of Culture that it has come up with the idea of establishing the Tote with a charitable status, rather than selling it off wholesale. The Government has made clear its position of no longer wishing to have a stake in the bookmaking organisation. 

The Tote is the only organisation legally allowed to operate a betting pool on horseracing. It has a presence at all 60 race tracks in the country, and offers bets on football and other sports to its customers. They also operate 550 betting shops nationally and its sale will be a source of finance for the struggling economy. 

Executive members of the Tote have put forward a recommendation calling for the organisation to be run as a charitable concern under the heading of the Tote Foundation, with the aim of benefiting charitable concerns allied to horseracing. 

The BHA has said that the idea is innovative and stressed that the Tote operated for the good of horseracing, offering a source of income for over 80 years. The government has always indicated that it wants to devoid itself from the gambling organisation but wants to see value for money secured for taxpayers. 

A BHA statement throws the Authority’s weight behind the proposal, which said that the idea of charitable status achieves the government’s aims and will also be good for racing. The BHA sees the Tote as essential and wishes to continue with its current operations of developing a business partnership to work towards, improving the industry as a whole.