French operator Pari Mutuel Urbain has joined forces with the country’s online gambling trade body.
As reported by Les Echoes, the AFJEL hopes to “strengthen its influence” with the addition of the operator of the land-based tote monopoly – a “major player” in the market.
Gaming & Co reported that the move is aimed at pushing the issue of online casino regulation further into view in France.
The French regulator, L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux, revealed in December that the black market could be worth up to €1.5bn, or 11 per cent of gross gaming revenue.
There have since been calls for the country to regulate online casino and, amid those calls, PMU’s fellow French operator, La Française des Jeux, has continued its M&A push by announcing a tender offer to acquire operator group Kindred for £2.1bn.
Gaming & Co also reported that as part of PMU’s alignment with the AFJEL, PMU CEO Emmanuelle Malecase-Doublet has become the AFJEL’s vice-president and Betclic CEO Nicolas Béraud has been re-elected as its president.
