Betfred is the winning bidder for the Tote
3 June 2011
UK-based bookie Betfred has actually been picked to purchase the Tote after an auction procedure that started in November.
BBC company editor Robert Peston stated Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt had picked Betfred although the deal had not been finished, with some technicalities still being figured out.
The price is not yet known but Betfred is believed to have actually bid about ₤ 200m.
Half of the charge will go to the racing market and racing charities, and many of the rest will go to the government.
The racing market might be disappointed, because it was understood to have actually preferred the competing 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, however have actually never ever come this promotion code near to doing so.
The federal government is hoping that the bet9ja's welcome offer will not fall foul of EU state aid rules or be overturned by a judicial review.
Jockey opposition
The Tote was established 83 years ago to provide a safe house for punters, controlled by the state, and beyond the reach of illegal bookies.
It delights in a monopoly of horse race pool-betting in exchange for a warranty that money was pumped back into the sport.
The Tote is based in Wigan, with more than 4,000 personnel, and presently injects half its revenues into racing.
In 2015, Chancellor George Osborne guaranteed to secure value for taxpayers while identifying the assistance the Tote gave to the market.
The Tote provided practically ₤ 19m to horse racing in 2010.
Efforts over the previous 3 years to sell the Tote hit issues, and the yohaig code government faces getting a lower price than the ₤ 400m mooted in 2007.
The Jockey Club opposes the sale and desires the yohaig code Tote to stay independent.
The Tote has 517 High Street wagering shops and the monopoly to run pool wagering online and at 60 racecourses in the UK.
