1928 Following a government review of betting on horse racing, what was eventually to become the tote was passed in 1928 by S ... ir Winston Churchill in an Act of Parliament. It wasn't until the July of the following year (1929) that the first bets were accepted at Newmarket and Carlisle. 1930 A group of gentlemen formed a company ‘Tote Investors Limited’ with the aim of accepting wagers away from the racecourse, the aim was to ensure some of the money placed in this way found its way to the racecourse and into the pool. 1961 The betting levy act came into force, amongst other things, like bookmakers being able to open shops on the high street, this year saw the Racehorse Betting Control Board renamed as The Horserace Totalisator Board (The Tote) though the general public preferred to call it ‘The Nanny’ Nanny Goat = Tote. 1972 The betting Gaming and Lotteries Act was passed in 1963, however, the tote was not allowed to accept fixed odds bets until 1972. Totesport rapidly became one of the high streets major players. 1994 The bookmaking industry was now a well established part of the community, and bets available on course, such as the toteplacepot were becoming more and more popular off course. Technology had moved to a new level, and Tote Direct was formed as a new offshoot to the tote, this new company was to deal with the business to business (B2B) operation of the tote. 2007 After several years of discussion, the government decided it was in everybodies best interests to sell the tote, and the first round of bids were placed, with an initial bid of £400m from Coral being turned down, however, it was not until a new government was formed with former chancellor Gordon Brown now at the helm that the bidding was reopened. 2011 The consortium of racecourses were unsuccessful, in its bid, and Betfred, owned by Fred Done were awarded the company in a deal worth up to £265m read more