Introduction To Online Tote Betting

By: Olena

Posted: June 5, 2020

Updated: June 5, 2020

What is a tote? Definition and difference from sportsbooks
Learn how to make online tote betting and why it is beneficial

Don’t you know that there is a special form of online betting called tote? This term may sound unfamiliar even to experienced gamblers as it is used mostly in Great Britain. Despite its local focus, an online tote betting system is still worth learning about, especially if you are a fan of horse racing. What is online tote betting? The UK gamblers should have definitely heard about it, while gamblers from other countries still have no clue. British commonly use the tote betting system for wagering on horses, so if this topic is of special interest, read our introduction to tote and its peculiarities. In particular, you will learn how it differs from common sportsbooks and what bets you can wager on.

Understanding online tote betting

Tote betting is a pool betting system in Britain that offers wagering on local horse races. Brits call it tote because of The Tote bookmaker, which is the most famous totalizator board in the UK. It has been the only bookmaker that was allowed to offer pool betting on horses for years, since its establishment in 1928. The second legal pool bookmark emerged only in 2018, which meant that The Tote has been a monopoly for 90 (!) years. This is the reason why a special horse betting system in the UK was named after it.

Online tote offers parimutuel betting on horses. What does it mean? Here, a dealer places parimutuel bets on horses together in a pool. Then the dealer deducts all taxes and calculates the payoff ratio by sharing the pool among all winning bets. Unlike fixed-odds betting, where the payout is determined once the bet is done, here it remains a secret. It means that nobody knows the payout sum until the dealer closes the pool. Check out online horse betting on Bet365 Sportsbook. Greyhound races and some sports use the tote betting system too, but it is most famous in gambling on British horse racing. To bet on other events, you better use online sportsbooks in the UK.

Available tote betting options

Like any other betting system, tote offers several types of wagering on horse racing. Here is a full list of them: Win, Place, Exacta, Trifecta, Quadpot, Placepot, Jackpot, and Each-way bets. What does each of them mean?

Tote Win is a bet on any horse to win the whole race.
Place bet means betting on a particular horse to come 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.
Exacta allows you to predict the correct order of horses to finish first and second.
Tote Trifecta is about betting on three horses to finish the race in a particular order.
Quadpot works on 3-6 races on the card and allows picking horses to participate in each race.
Placepot is the same bet as Quadpot, but here you can wager on horses in all six races.
Jackpot bet means choosing six winners at all races that the bookmaker will announce.
Each-Way is basically a combination of Tote Place and Tote Win.

Where to bet on horse racing?

Once you learn what is online tote betting system, you probably want to try it yourself. Tote betting is available at the official Tote site in the United Kingdom, which we have already mentioned above. The oldest bookie is the only option to bet on British horse races. However, you can always bet on horse racing at sportsbooks like Bet365 as it offers a wide range of odds in daily competitions. This June, horse races take place almost daily in such countries as the UK & Ireland, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Bet365 Sportsbook updates odds regularly, so visit it to wager on a particular horse with the best payouts.