Britbet Racing LLP (“Britbet”), a partnership of 55 British racecourses, has today announced an extended commitment from its racecourse partners for the continued delivery of their oncourse pool betting service.

A key element to this commitment from racecourses comes from Britbet renewing a long-term partnership with the UK Tote Group that will deliver liquidity from the majority of its racecourse partners, including all Jockey Club racecourses and the large independent tracks, to the pools hosted by the Tote on racing taking place at these racecourses.

The renewed partnership will continue to provide a united approach to growing pool betting in the UK, with racecourses controlling the delivery of an oncourse service and the Tote providing the recognised brand and the off-course services, combining to create a single pool hosted by the Tote.

The agreement between Britbet and the Tote will go live in November 2025 and will be in place until at least the end of October 2030, subject to a range of performance measures being met. The new partnership builds on the existing agreement which has been in place since October 2018. Over this time there has been significant growth and innovation in pool betting, with the launch of a dedicated Tote website and App, combined with more competitive pricing, including the introduction of Tote Guarantee in 2020 which ensures the Tote will always exceed or match the Industry Starting Price on Win bets.
Britbet commenced operating the pool betting service oncourse in July 2018. Oncourse turnover exceeded £72m in 2024, a 26% increase to that achieved in 2018. It has delivered this through a continued investment in its staff and the technology used to take the bets from racegoers. The key Tote Guarantee offering provides value back to customers, whilst oncourse specific innovations such as Lucky Pick wallets and Multiples, have all helped to drive increased customer engagement.

Under the operation of the UK Tote Group, the overall UK/Irish pool (the two pools were combined via an agreement with Horse Racing Ireland in April 2020) has increased by over 50% with 100,000 online active customers enjoying an ever-improving customer experience at tote.co.uk/ie. Through the existing deal the UK Tote Group has returned over £40 million to Britbet over the last five years, while investing over £100 million in the business to support the future growth of pool betting.

Over the last six years several British racecourses have benefited from the introduction of World Pool which is hosted on some of the highest profile Flat race days. By combining pools from around the globe, World Pool creates huge liquidity for racing fans and a new revenue stream for racecourses via increased media rights. Since its inception by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2019, World Pool has contributed in excess of £50 million to British and Irish racecourses making it the most significant new funding stream for the sport in recent years. The new partnership between Britbet and the UK Tote Group ensures a continued unified approach for many racecourses, helping to focus on a single pool and working with international partners to benefit from the evolution and expansion of World Pool.

Nigel Roddis, Managing Director of Britbet, said: “We are delighted to receive the continued backing of our racecourse partners and to use that to continue the relationship with the UK Tote Group.  The delivery of a daily pool betting service ranges from 500+ staff on each day of the Cheltenham Festival, through to meetings where everyone knows each other on a weekday Winter evening. To be viable it requires a collective approach, sharing resources and spreading costs as widely as possible. Britbet is tangible evidence of the benefits that the customer can receive from racecourses acting together.  We look forward to continuing to work with the Tote team to deliver further benefits for racegoers as well as providing the core liquidity to help drive the continued expansion of the pools off course.”

Charlie Boss, Interim Group Chief Executive of the Jockey Club and Britbet Board member, said: “This extended partnership is fantastic news, not only for us and for racegoers but also for the wider industry. We want to offer everyone on our racecourses from regulars to first time visitors the best possible experience, and the pool betting offering delivered by Britbet in collaboration with the UK Tote Group offers so many benefits for our customers, from new innovations and products to the service they receive on course.

“We’re also committed to furthering our collaboration with global pool betting partners and, as we have seen with the World Pool initiative, driving growth in this area benefits the sport in a number of ways, not least by increasing media rights which we are then able to reinvest back into British racing.”

Alex Eade, Secretary General of the Large Independent Racecourse Group and Britbet Board member, on which he represents Goodwood, Newbury and York, said: “Continuing with Britbet and its partnership with the Tote is very important to Goodwood, Newbury and York racecourses. These tracks host internationally renowned race meetings for which World Pool and our relationship with the Hong Kong Jockey Club are critical in generating new revenue and increasing prize money levels. It also ensures that we have access to resources that allow us, and all racecourses across Great Britain, to deliver excellent customer service to racegoers whenever we race.”

Jonathan Garratt, representing the small independent racecourses on the Britbet Board, said: “Britbet has succeeded in reversing the previously entrenched decline of pool betting on British racecourses and is an excellent collaboration. While smaller racecourses have no direct access to the benefits of World Pool, our valuable content provides consistency for the pool betting service from day to day and so I’m pleased that this has been recognised through the extended agreement with UK Tote Group.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “This is another significant moment in the evolution of the modern Tote as we work with our partners across British racing and around the world to rejuvenate pool betting in the UK and Ireland. We are delighted to have agreed a second long-term partnership with leading British racecourses allowing us to work together to develop the digital and racecourse customer experience to ensure we are offering racing fans a competitive and appealing experience when betting with the Tote. In addition, this new partnership provides the stable platform British racing needs to work with international pool betting partners, including the Hong Kong Jockey Club and members of the World Tote Association. This will allow the sport to benefit from the further evolution of World Pool and further opportunities to grow pool betting on British racing which is a key revenue driver in the years ahead.

“I would like to thank Nigel Roddis and the whole Britbet board for their commitment in renewing our partnership and we look forward to working together with all racecourses and stakeholders in the years ahead.”

The new partnership does not include Arena Racing Company racecourses. Discussions about pool betting between Arena Racing Company, Britbet and the UK Tote Group are ongoing.