4Racing CEO Fundi Sithebe appointed to WoTA Board

4Racing CEO, Fundi Sithebe, was on Friday appointed to the Board of the World Tote Association at WoTA’s General Assembly in London, as 4Racing continues to actively promote pool betting and the critical role it plays in supporting the global horseracing industry.

Sithebe was voted onto the WoTA Board, comprised of the world’s leading horseracing industry figures, by the members of WoTA’s General Assembly.

Sithebe participated in a panel session today on ‘The Future of Tote Betting’, alongside Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director of Wagering Products at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Aymeric Verlet, International Manager of the PMU (France), Keith Johnson, Chief Revenue Officer of 1st Bet Technology & Amtote (USA) and Hans Lord Skarploth, CEO of ATG (Sweden) in a session moderated by Racing Post journalist Andrew Brown.

In the session Sithebe reiterated 4Racing’s position of being “bookmaker agnostic” and said that while 4Racing was fighting to ensure the sustainability of the tote as a critically important mainstay of the industry, the operator was also open to collaboration and partnerships with bookmakers for the benefit of the broader horseracing industry.

 “In our strategy we deliberately said we would partner with bookmakers, rather than considering ourselves a bookmaker competing with other bookmakers. At the end of the day what serves the industry is collaboration, it is partnership, and we can ensure integration from bookmakers into the tote and partner with bookmakers in a way that is not to the detriment of the industry,” said Sithebe.

 The 4Racing CEO added that digitisation of the tote products and diversifying its product offering, as it has done with for instance its soccer betting products, was critical in ensuring 4Racing and the horseracing industry’s long-term sustainability.

 “Our ethos is to say how do we ensure that for the safeguarding of the industry we diversify and serve the rapidly changing customer needs in the space we are in. Being voted onto the WoTA Board underlines 4Racing’s commitment to the tote, off the back of the enhancements we have made to out TAB4Racing digital app. Being on the global body that seeks to positively influence the relevance of the tote is a major boost for 4Racing as we collaborate with industry leaders across the world for the sustainability of the horseracing industry,” said Sithebe.