Tote bodies seeking to realise potential of international commingling

Members of the European Pari Mutuel Association, which include the UK Tote Group and its sister organisation the Asian-African Tote Association, are to examine the development of a new protocol to make commingling of pool bets across borders more efficient.

The current procedure, known as ITSP (the Inter Tote Service Protocol), has been in existence for two decades allowing pool information to be shared between two systems, but it no longer best serves the modern market, according to the major operators. However, change is on the horizon.

At a joint meeting of members of the EPMA and AATA held on the sidelines of the Asian Racing Conference in Cape Town last week, it was agreed that a road map for the development of a new protocol would be produced by the end of this year.