Tote Group Will Replace Alex Frost with GiG’s James Coxon as CEO

Tote Group is to replace Alex Frost with James Coxon as its CEO, with Coxon making the move from supplier Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) as part of a renewed focus in light of tighter regulation and increased taxation.

Frost has been at the helm of the Tote Group since August 2017. Frost remained with the Tote after it was bought by UK Tote Group, who were initially known as Alizeti Capital, from Betfred for £115 million in 2019. The Tote’s physical shops remained with Betfred, while Tote Group evolved into a B2B digital-first operation.

Coxon brings with him a strong background in gaming, which stretches across two decades. Coxon worked in various gaming-related roles at pub hospitality company Marston’s from 2006 to 2012, including Group Gaming Director.

That was followed by a six-year spell at supplier Scientific Games, where he rose to Director of Business Development. He then moved over to the operator side in a five-year stint at DraftKings, where he was Vice President, International among other positions. Coxon has been Chief Operating Officer at GiG since December 2023.

Changing times at the Tote

The Tote works in a way that is similar to the National Lottery. Players place bets on horses into a central, cumulative pool, with the Tote subtracting a percentage from the total pool. Frost, who will step down from the role of CEO at the end of the year, said:

"The increasing regulatory burdens on digital operators and the sharp increase in tax 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.”

Taxation challenges

Horseracing is already being impacted by increased online taxation in the UK. In April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21% of gross gambling yield (GGY) to 40%.

There will also be a rise in general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, in April 2027, from 15% of GGY to 25%; bets on horseracing will be exempt from the increase.

There could also be an announcement of increased machine games duty (MGD) in the coming weeks. In June, cross-party think tank the Social Markets Foundation called for MGD on Category B machines in the UK to be raised to 40% of net takings, which would be double the current rate of 20% of revenue generated on gaming machines in both casinos and bingo halls.

Impact on horseracing

Reports have suggested UK Chancellor John Healey is considering announcing a new 40% rate in the Autumn Budget, which will be confirmed on Wednesday, 28 October. While the tax rates do not impact horseracing directly, they can affect the marketing budgets operators wish to spend on the sport.

A potential early sign of this was Coral’s decision to end its sponsorship of the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival. The Entain-owned brand had sponsored the race since its inception in 1993.

When announcing the company’s decision, Simon Clare, Entain’s UK PR and Sponsorship Director, mentioned “the scale of the recent tax increase on betting operators means we must take difficult decisions to mitigate its impact.”