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3 June 2011
Last updated at 05:22 ET
UK-based bookmaker Betfred has been chosen to buy the Tote after an auction process that began in November.
Betfred, the country's fourth-biggest bookmaker, will pay £265m for the business.
The sale is subject to consultation with the Tote's employees and is expected to be completed in about four to eight week' time.
The Tote has 517 High Street shops and the monopoly to run pool betting online and at 60 UK racecourses.
Pool betting differs from that offered by bookmakers.
The Tote takes a percentage of stake money placed. After deducting expenses it gives the remaining amount to the racing industry.
Everything else is paid out to winners.
The sale agreement signals the end of a 14-year attempt by governments to privatise the betting group, which employs more than 4,000 staff.
Betfred's main rival in the auction was Sport Investments Partners (SIP), a consortium led by the British Airways chairman Martin Broughton.
Half the money raised from the sale will go to the government with the rest going to the racing industry.
'Good deal' As part of the deal, Betfred will keep exclusive control of the pool betting system on UK racecourses for seven years.
In return, it has committed to paying the racing industry £11m to March 2012, with payments of £9m a year for the next six years of the licence.
The gambling and racing minister, John Penrose, said the government had "bent over backwards to deliver a good deal for racing".
He added: "Most people can't understand why, in the modern world, the government should be even part owner of a bookie. So we pledged last year to end years of dithering and resolve the future of the Tote, and today we have done just that."
The Tote was set up 83 years ago by Winston Churchill, to provide a safe haven for punters, controlled by the state, and beyond the reach of illegal bookmakers.
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Betfred, the country's fourth-biggest bookmaker, will pay £265m for the business.
The sale is subject to consultation with the Tote's employees and is expected to be completed in about four to eight week' time.
The Tote has 517 High Street shops and the monopoly to run pool betting online and at 60 UK racecourses.
Pool betting differs from that offered by bookmakers.
The Tote takes a percentage of stake money placed. After deducting expenses it gives the remaining amount to the racing industry.
Everything else is paid out to winners.
The sale agreement signals the end of a 14-year attempt by governments to privatise the betting group, which employs more than 4,000 staff.
Betfred's main rival in the auction was Sport Investments Partners (SIP), a consortium led by the British Airways chairman Martin Broughton.
Half the money raised from the sale will go to the government with the rest going to the racing industry.
'Good deal' As part of the deal, Betfred will keep exclusive control of the pool betting system on UK racecourses for seven years.
In return, it has committed to paying the racing industry £11m to March 2012, with payments of £9m a year for the next six years of the licence.
The gambling and racing minister, John Penrose, said the government had "bent over backwards to deliver a good deal for racing".
He added: "Most people can't understand why, in the modern world, the government should be even part owner of a bookie. So we pledged last year to end years of dithering and resolve the future of the Tote, and today we have done just that."
The Tote was set up 83 years ago by Winston Churchill, to provide a safe haven for punters, controlled by the state, and beyond the reach of illegal bookmakers.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials