Tote UK Review and Sports Bonus 2024
Tote is an excellent online betting site with a strong focus on horse racing and some great football betting options too.
Formerly known as ToteSport, their new rebranded look refers to them as 'The Tote’ or simply Tote. Read our full review to find out more.
The Tote welcome bonus is for new customers from the UK and Ireland that gives you a £20 Tote Credit when you place your first bet of at least £10 on racing pools. You will receive £20 in bet credits whether you win or lose, and it is redeemable against any future placepot bets on UK and Irish horse racing. You do not have to do anything extra to claim this bonus. The qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet slip when you sign up as a new customer. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify for this bonus offer.
Your credits will appear in your account within 24 hours of your qualifying bet being settled. Welcome bonus credits expire if not used within seven days. You must be over 18 to bet at The Tote and the welcome bonus can only be redeemed once, on your first and only Tote account. There is no wagering requirement with this offer, and it can be used on either the site or the app.
This online sports betting site has some other great offers for all their customers including:
- Spin the Wheel, where you can receive up to five spins on the weekly Prize Wheel. One free spin can be earned for every £200 stake on slot games. If you like mixing it up and playing at casinos, Tote is a good match.
- The Stayers Club, where those who place six bets in a week earn a free Stayers Credit and other exclusive offers.
- The Tote Guarantee, which means the bookie always pays at least SP on Win bets and if the Tote dividend is greater, your winnings are paid out at that price.
- Tote Plus: On selected events, players receive at least a 10% bigger payout on winning Tote bets than when playing through any other channel.
As always, terms and conditions apply to offers and bonuses, so read them carefully to avoid any surprises.
Creating an account at Tote is quick and easy, but as you would expect, you will have to submit some details in order to get your account set up and verified.
- Start by going to the Tote site, and clicking on the white ‘Join’ button
- Add your email address and choose a username and password
- Fill out your personal details – you’ll need to submit your name, date of birth, address and telephone number
- Choose your marketing preferences; you can change these at any time in the ‘My Account section, by clicking on ‘Marketing Preferences
- Confirm you are over 18 and click ‘Join’
- You will then have to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) verification
- Finish verification by uploading the requested documents which will include proof of ID and proof of address
Tote has a good mobile app for both Android and iOS devices, which is easy, and free, to download and install from Google Play and the App store. Their apps work well and give the user access to all the same features as the main site. They also include a built-in help tool to assist with single bets and provide information on markets and meetings. The apps are generally well appreciated by Tote customers, with a 4.4-star rating in the App store, and a 4.7-star rating on Google Play.
Unlike many UK bookmakers, Tote has pursued a specialist route. Rather than providing a wide range of different sports betting markets, it has a strong focus on horse racing and in particular pools betting on horse racing. This means that punters pick their horses and put their money into a collective ‘pool’ with other bettors. If the horse wins, everyone in the pool shares a percentage of the pot. The more people who back a particular horse, the less the winning share for each person is. If fewer people back a particular horse, bettors each get a greater share if it wins.
The Tote also now offers football betting on a similar basis. You can join a football betting syndicate, which is also essentially a type of pool betting. A variety of bets are available to be placed rather than only picking the winning side. You can also place bets on specific outcomes, such as Both Teams To Score.
In addition, The Tote offers virtual sports betting. There is a new dedicated Virtual Sports arena on the Tote site, and virtual races can take place as often as every two minutes. While it’s probably not for the purists, some punters like the fun of placing bets on virtual events. It is basically just a game of chance, where you won’t need to study things like form, track conditions or which jockeys are riding. You just make a choice and place a bet.
In summary, Tote provides betting on:
- Horse racing
- Football
- Virtual sports
You can watch all the races available through Tote Streaming, even if you don’t have a bet on that race. You just need to have an account there and to have made at least one deposit.
One potential drawback of this bookie is the limited choice of payment methods. There are very limited options compared with many UK sports betting sites.
The Tote only accepts major debit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard. Deposits are instant, and there are no deposit fees.
You can withdraw your winnings back into your bank using the same card you used to deposit. Depending on your bank, withdrawals usually clear within three to five working days.
Tote customer service options for UK customers are:
- Freephone: 0800 032 8188
- International phone line when outside of the UK (charges apply): +44 1942 314045
There is also a live chat option available, which is undoubtedly the best way to get in touch for most punters. The Tote customer support team is available from 8 am to midnight, 7 days a week, every day except for Christmas Day.
Yes, Tote is not just one of the top bookies, they also have an excellent casino section with multiple table games. You can enjoy everything from blackjack to poker and jackpot slots.
At this time, you can only live stream horse racing at Tote, but you can stream every race available, regardless of betting status, as long as you have an active account.
Customer support response always varies according to the time of day and how busy the team is, but in our test, the live chat response was almost instant.
The welcome bonus at The Tote includes £20 in free bets and there are other ongoing promotions that offer free bets and other prizes. Free bets at The Tote are referred to as Tote Credit, but this is simply an amount of credit applied to your account to use for future bets. Free bets win real money, but there are, of course, various conditions attached to how you can use them, so read the terms and conditions before you place your bets.
Like any reputable bookie, Tote does not take winnings back from you unless they discover there has been illegal fraudulent activity, in which case they can close your account, withhold winnings and contact the relevant authorities.
No, you cannot cash out a free bet at Tote, and there are other restrictions when it comes to free bets, so read the terms and conditions carefully.
No, Tote does not offer acca insurance.
You can cancel your Tote account at any time by contacting customer service by telephone, email, live chat or post. Customers remain responsible for any activities on the account until confirmation is received from Tote that the account has been closed. At that point, any money in the account will be returned, less any money owed to the bookie, not including any Tote credit that may remain in the account.
Our team of experts provides in-depth reviews of all the top UK bookmakers. Check out some of our other reviews:
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
