Tote Names James Coxon CEO as Alex Frost Steps Down and Online Gaming Closes

Alex Frost, who led the racehorse owners' purchase of the Tote from Betfred in 2019, will hand over to former GiG and DraftKings executive James Coxon at the end of 2026. In the same announcement the Tote is closing its online gaming and cutting back a consumer digital business that its latest accounts show made an EBITDA loss of £11.9 million.

• The UK Tote Group says chief executive Alex Frost will step down at the end of 2026 after almost nine years, with James Coxon, most recently chief operating officer at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), succeeding him
• Frost will stay on in an executive director capacity during 2027 before moving to a non-executive role on the board, according to the announcement as reported by NEXT.io
• The Tote is closing its online gaming business, scaling back investment in direct-to-consumer digital and cutting roles there, to refocus on UK and international pool betting, above all the World Pool it runs with the Hong Kong Jockey Club
• Its digital arm recorded an EBITDA loss of £11.9 million in the year to 28 September 2025, against £15.7 million of EBITDA from the pool business, and the group lost £7.1 million after tax, according to its accounts at Companies House
• Frost cited tax increases and heavier regulation, after Remote Gaming Duty rose to 40% in April; the Tote keeps a sportsbook and its tote.co.uk and tote.ie sites for pool bets

The Tote's Chief Hands Over as the Business Shrinks Back to Racing

The UK Tote Group announced on 6 October that Alex Frost will step down as chief executive at the end of 2026, according to the Racing Post and NEXT.io, which both reported the announcement. Frost led the purchase of the Tote from Betfred and has been chief executive since the group, backed by the Alizeti racehorse owners' consortium, took ownership in 2019. He first raised succession with the board at the start of this year, the Racing Post reports. He will continue in an executive director capacity in 2027 before moving to a non-executive role, according to NEXT.io's account of the release; SBC News described his 2027 role as non-executive.

James Coxon has more than 20 years' experience in B2B and B2C betting and gaming, held senior leadership positions at DraftKings after its acquisition of SBTech and most recently served as chief operating officer at platform provider GiG, according to the announcement. SBC News reports that his DraftKings role was vice president of international and that he earlier worked at Scientific Games as commercial director. Tote Group chair John Williamson cited his "proven leadership credentials and strong track record of delivering growth". The terms of the appointment were not disclosed.

Alongside the succession, the Tote set out the outcome of a strategic review. It will close its gaming business, offer a more racing-focused product on its digital platforms and retain "a complementary sportsbook offering", Frost told the Racing Post. Investment in direct-to-consumer digital will be reduced; roles will go there and a staff consultation has begun, partly offset by new B2B roles. The number affected was not disclosed. The digital business "operates at a loss", Frost said in the announcement, as quoted by SBC News, and with higher tax rates the group had decided "to stem those losses".

What the Latest Accounts Show

UK Tote Group Limited's accounts for the year to 28 September 2025, filed at Companies House on 4 July, show amounts wagered of £770.0 million, up from £680.2 million, and turnover of £48.8 million against £45.4 million. After £2.3 million of statutory betting levy and £4.3 million of betting duty, the operating loss was £8.5 million, including £8.6 million of non-cash amortisation, and the loss after tax was £7.1 million against £6.7 million.

The segment figures explain the decision. Underlying EBITDA fell to £1.0 million from £1.8 million. The pool business, TPoolco, made £15.7 million, down from £17.2 million, after £8.9 million of payments to racing through Britbet. The consumer business, TDCO, which runs tote.co.uk and tote.ie with pool betting, a sportsbook launched in March 2024 and casino games, lost £11.9 million, against £12.8 million. Central costs were £2.8 million. UK host pool wagers were £614 million against £621 million, up 1% after adjusting for an extra week in 2024. Cash fell to £15.5 million from £26.6 million.

The group has about 190 investors, most of them racehorse owners and breeders, and carries £157.4 million of share premium against accumulated losses of £81.3 million, according to the accounts. Frost told the Racing Post the Tote has "a strong balance sheet, no debt and an incredibly supportive shareholder base".

The Digital Push Was the Plan, and the Plan Has Been Rewritten

The directors wrote that the consumer losses "formed part of the business plan at the time of the acquisition". In the last full year the digital loss narrowed by only £0.8 million while the pool business, which pays for everything, earned £1.5 million less. On the accounts' own breakdown, the pool business net of central costs produced about £12.9 million of EBITDA, and the digital arm consumed almost all of it. Frost frames the retreat around tax, and a 40% duty falls hardest on a sub-scale casino offer. But the economics were strained before the new rate took effect; the tax made the case decisive rather than creating it. Larger operators are making similar calls, with bet365 cutting jobs.

World Pool Is Now the Whole Thesis

A pool operator does not need customers to lose in order to win, as Frost put it, but it does need liquidity, and the domestic pool is not growing: UK host pool wagers were flat, and Britbet has hosted the on-course pools at 19 racecourses since 1 November 2025, according to Arena Racing Company. Growth has to come from commingling. World Pool, launched with the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Royal Ascot in 2019, has generated more than £65 million for British and Irish racecourses, according to Frost; the figure is the Tote's own and is not broken out in its accounts. Racing has a direct stake, since the Tote's £8.9 million of Britbet payments and its levy come from the same pool business, while affordability checks and the staged rollout of financial risk assessments weigh on the sport's betting income.

An Operations Hire for an Execution Job

Frost told the Racing Post the next phase needs "fresh energy at the top, particularly around technology and operational execution". Coxon's background, from SBTech's platform business to GiG, fits that brief more than a consumer marketing one. It completes a year of change at the top: chief operating officer Dave Hammond left in April, and in July the Tote promoted Paddy Desmond to group chief operating officer and hired Eugene Delaney as B2B chief commercial officer, according to SBC News. Frost staying on through 2027 keeps continuity on the international relationships he built.

The Tote has stopped trying to be a full online bookmaker and gone back to being a pool operator with international reach. Whether that is a sharper strategy or simply a smaller one will show in World Pool volumes in the next set of accounts.