Changes to the executive leadership come as the Tote refocuses its strategy to accelerate UK and international pool growth
The UK Tote Group has appointed James Coxon as its next chief executive officer, succeeding Alex Frost who is stepping down at the end of this year.
Frost has been in charge of the business for almost nine years and has overseen the transformation of the Tote following its acquisition from Betfred.
Rebuilding the business as an independent operator, he helped establish the World Pool alongside the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which has developed into an increasingly important growth platform for the Tote and British and Irish racing.
Frost will continue to contribute to the business in an executive director capacity in 2027 before transitioning to a non-executive director.
Coxon brings more than 20 years of experience across the betting and gaming sector in both B2B and B2C environments, holding senior leadership positions at Draftkings following its acquisition of SBTech and more recently as chief operating officer at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG).
“It has been a great honour to lead the Tote through what has at times been an extraordinarily challenging backdrop for British racing and the wider betting industry,” said Frost. “I am immensely proud of the foundations we have established which will underpin its future for many years to come.
“The Tote is a special business and one I care deeply about. I am delighted to be staying closely involved and I look forward to playing my part in completing the journey we started nearly a decade ago to restore the Tote to its rightful position at the heart of British racing.”
The Tote chairman John Williamson said: “On behalf of the UKTG Board, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Alex for his significant contribution to the business and to the wider horse racing industry. Alex has provided strong leadership over the past nine years, overseeing a period of significant transformation for the Tote and helping to build a strong platform for future growth. We are delighted that he will continue to support the business, ensuring continuity as we build on the progress achieved under his leadership.
“I would also like to extend our congratulations to James on his appointment and to welcome him to the Tote as our incoming chief executive officer. His extensive industry experience, proven leadership credentials and strong track record of delivering growth make him exceptionally well placed to lead the Tote through its next phase of development, strengthening our partnerships, and delivering for customers and stakeholders both in the UK and internationally.”
Alongside the planned leadership transition, the Tote said that it will renew its focus on UK and international horse race pool betting following a strategic review of the business.
This means it will reduce its investment in its direct-to-consumer digital business in other products.
“The Tote’s future is in developing horserace betting pools both in the UK and internationally,” said Frost in explaining the move. “Working with our key partners, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the BHA, Horseracing Ireland and other key international jurisdictions, the World Pool is experiencing rapid growth. We believe there is considerably more that we can do to accelerate this growth by investing to support our pool distribution partners including the racecourses, bookmakers and our international comingling partners.
“To prioritise this, we have decided to reduce the investment we have been making to grow our direct-to-consumer digital business in the UK.”
Frost said that the increasing regulatory burdens on digital operators and the sharp increase in tax in the UK have been contributory factors in this renewed focus for the Tote.
“We have been growing our digital business quickly over recent years but it operates at a loss and, with the increase in tax rates, we have decided to stem those losses and refocus the group on the very considerable opportunity that lies in international horserace pool commingling, including World Pool,” he continued.
“We have already invested significantly in World Pool and the international partnerships that underpin it and with the World Pool calendar now considerably larger and the international opportunity continuing to grow, we believe now is the right time to reallocate resources and further increase our investment in this considerable opportunity. This will place international pool betting and World Pool firmly at the heart of the Tote’s future strategy.”
The Tote confirmed that this reorientation will result in a number of roles being lost in the digital business, which will be partly offset by the creation of a number of new roles in the Tote’s B2B division.
The Tote will withdraw gaming content online but will maintain Tote.co.uk and Tote.ie as sites for UK and Irish customers to be able to place their online pool bets, alongside a range of other fixed odds sports betting opportunities.
“We will be utilising Tote.co.uk and Tote.ie to trial new pool betting initiatives and promotions which we can then make available to our all-important distribution network, both within the UK and internationally,” added Frost.
World Pool has grown pool betting revenues by around 40 per cent this year, with double-digit growth expected to continue in 2027 when the calendar of World Pool days further increases.