Totesport

Mention the totesport to anyone with even the vaguest interest in betting and they will immediately think of horseracing. Established in 1928 by an Act of Parliament, the original charge of the tote was to provide bettors with an alternative to bookmakers by offering pool-betting opportunities on horse racing. Whereas bookies tend to be in business to line their own pockets, the tote was founded to distribute profits in a way that supported and promoted racing itself.

It has done this effectively for almost eighty years, and is now the most respected betting organisation in the UK bar none. The Totesport online service is the most modern offering of the organisation, but offline they operate over 450 shops, have a presence on all 59 racecourses and they also run Tote Direct, a telephone bet service founded in 1992 in conjunction with Coral bookmakers.

The Totesport home page adopts a clean and simple design which is as easy on the eye as it is to navigate. Highlight any one of the categories from the menu on the left hand side of the page and a sub-menu of events will appear. This allows you to get to where you want to go with just one click of your mouse - something that a few other sites we could mention would to well to learn from.

The Tote

Although the tote has strong historical links with racing, the Totesport web site offers betting opportunities on a variety of sports. Of course, racing is one of them, and you can place a pooled tote bet or a regular Starting Price bet. Other sports include football, rugby, tennis, golf, snooker, boxing, baseball and a lot more besides. In a nutshell, if any other bookie offers odds about an event, there's a good chance that Totesport does as well.

Placing bets is simple. Go to the event of your choice, click on the selection you want and then enter your stake. Then hit the "Place Bet" icon and the job's done. The whole process takes just a few seconds, and is as near to idiot-proof as you're likely to find on any sportsbook site.

All of this apart, what makes Totesport stand head and shoulders above the rest is the Tote DNA. This is their unique pledge to serve their clients with enthusiasm, honesty, respect, and a sense of fun and friendliness. If that sounds like a breath of fresh air in the world of betting, you're in for a treat, because Tote Sport don't just talk fancy words - they live by them. If being able to trust that a site has integrity all the way through is as important to you as it is to us, Totesport should be at the top of your favourites. Heck, this site is so good that it deserves to be your home page!