World Tote Association elect new Board to drive its activities for the coming two years

The World Tote Association (WoTA) have elected the new Board who will drive the Association's activities for the coming two years at a Board meeting hosted at the recent Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan. 

Fundi Sithebe, CEO of 4Racing in South Africa, and Keith Johnson, President of 1/ST TECHNOLOGY group/AmTote have accepted nominations to co-chair the Association. Riko Luiking, General Manager of German Tote, has likewise accepted the role of Treasurer.

Sithebe and Johnson take over from Alex Frost, CEO of the UK Tote Group, and Hans Lord Skarploth, CEO of ATG in Sweden, who have successfully co-chaired the Association since October 2022. During their tenure as Co-Chairs, the board initiated further commingling between members and a new sports pool project.

Fundi Sithebe

According to the Association, the meeting focused on certain key points, including: 

• Creating stronger national and global betting pools, especially through commingling, to support the respective horseracing industries.
• Expanding pari-mutuel pool betting through additional markets and sporting events content for the additional collective benefit of WoTA operators.
• Addressing the challenges of illegal wagering.
• Working collectively on diversity and inclusion to further growth within the pool betting sector.

On taking over as Co-Chairs, Fundi Sithebe and Keith Johnson said: "We are delighted to be taking over as Co-Chairs of the World Tote Association. Over the last five years, WoTA has made significant progress in developing the relationship between members and increasing understanding of the role pool betting plays in supporting horseracing around the globe."

"We thank Alex and Hasse for their excellent stewardship, and the entire WoTA Board for their efforts, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to further our collective ambitions for the good of horseracing and society as a whole," they added.

Keith Johnson

According to the association, the new WoTA Board will focus on the stated key objectives to ensure WoTA progresses its overall aim to see the growth of pool betting and make an increased contribution to horseracing and has a positive relationship with customers, governments, regulators, and society. WoTA stated that it is also proud to welcome the Jockey Club of Turkey and Zeturf Group as full members of the Association.

Members of the WoTA Board for 2025-26 include:

 
1.     Keith Johnson – 1/ST TECHNOLOGY / AmTote (Co-Chair)
2.     Fundi Sithebe - 4Racing (Co-Chair)
3.     Alex Frost – UK Tote Group
4.     Hans Lord Skarplöth – ATG
5.     Paul Cross – Tabcorp
6.     Michael Fitzsimons – Hong Kong Jockey Club
7.     Driss Belghazi – Sorec
8.     Adrien Billon – Carrus Group
9.     Andreas Reimblad – Veikkaus
10.  Simon Leong – Singapore Pools
11.  Riko Luiking - German Tote (Treasurer)
12.  Andrew Archibald - United Tote