The former French gambling monopoly Pari Mutuel Urbain has made a further move to safeguard its market positioning in anticipation of market liberalisation by signing a four-year sponsorship deal with the French football federation Federation Francaise De Football (FFF).
The PMU has some 10 000 retail outlets in France and a turnover of Euro 9.3 billion in 2009, and the deal with the FFF will position the giant betting organisation alongside other French sports sponsors jockeying for market position such as Adidas, bank Credit Agricole and energy giant GDF Suez.
The sponsorship agreement comes into force following the World Cup in South Africa mid-year, and leading up to the football spectacular PMU will be helping to foot the bill for World Cup coverage via the TF1 and Eurosport television channels.
The deal follows the PMU’s 5 year partnership agreement signed with Irish online and land bookie Paddy Power recently .