It was sold to UK Tote Group – a consortium of over 150 individual investors involved in the sport as racehorse owners and breeders – in October 2019 for £115m.

[5] It was set up by Winston Churchill as a government-appointed board, with the intention of providing a safe, state-controlled alternative to illegal off course bookmakers and ensuring that some gambling revenues were put back into the sport of horse racing.

The Tote has formal pool betting links from similar organisations in Ireland, Germany, France, Holland, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, the US and South Africa.

[14] After the 1997 general election Howard's Labour successor Jack Straw launched a fresh study and privatisation of the organisation was made a manifesto commitment in 2001.

To enable privatisation the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004 was passed with the intention of converting the Tote from a statutory corporation to a limited company so that a sale could take place.

However, after an extensive audit, the prevailing financial situation forced the Government to opt to retain the status quo until further notice.

On 12 October 2009, Gordon Brown, at that point Prime Minister, announced plans for the sale of the Tote along with a number of other publicly owned assets, although no progress was made before the 2010 general election.

There were believed to be five, including Betfred, David and Simon Reuben, Gala Coral Group, Sports Investment Partners led by Sir Martin Broughton and a foundation set up by the existing management, although there were indications of a sixth.