The UK Tote Group announced the appointment of a new chief executive on Tuesday, set to enhance its focus on horse racing pool betting as part of a strategic growth initiative for its World Pool operations. James Coxon, who has over 20 years of experience in the betting and gaming industry, will take over from Alex Frost at the end of this year. Coxon has held senior roles at DraftKings after the SBTech acquisition, and most recently served as the chief operating officer at Gaming Innovation Group.
Frost has led the Tote for almost nine years and will remain involved with the company as an executive director until 2027, transitioning to a non-executive director role thereafter. He remarked on his tenure, "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. I am immensely proud of the foundations we have established which will underpin its future for many years to come."
John Williamson, chairman of the Tote’s board, thanked Frost for his significant contributions and expressed confidence in Coxon’s capability to lead the organization into its next phase of development.
This leadership change is part of a broader strategic review. The Tote plans to prioritize pool commingling, both in the UK and internationally, while focusing on the World Pool, a global horse racing betting system that combines wagers into one pool. The Tote aims to reduce investment in its direct online consumer business, moving away from gaming content. Its platforms, Tote.co.uk and Tote.ie, will focus solely on UK and Irish pool betting, supplemented by a limited selection of fixed-odds sports bets. These sites will also test new pool initiatives and promotions for possible launch through racecourses, bookmakers, and international partners.
This strategic pivot will lead to job losses in the digital division, although new positions are expected to emerge in the B2B sector to help offset some of those cuts.
Frost stated, "The Tote’s future is in developing horse racing betting pools both in the UK and internationally. 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 commingling partners."
The Tote noted that revenue from its World Pool is projected to grow by 40% this year, with continued double-digit growth expected through 2027 as the number of World Pool race days increases. Frost pointed to growing regulatory pressures on digital operators and rising taxation as key reasons for refocusing resources towards international pool betting.
