French gambling giant in co-mingling deal

San Francisco-based WatchandWager.com, a subsidiary of the Webis group of sports betting, pool wagering and Californian harness racing operations, has signed a direct co-mingling contract with Pari Mutuel Urbain for wagering on French horseracing.

The PMU is owned by the French Racing Association and operates online and offline pari-mutuel wagering on all French and international horseracing available in France, with a total turnover of Euro 9.818 billion in 2012.

The contract allows WatchandWager’s US based customers to bet directly into the PMU racetrack pools on a daily basis, and also allows for use of French horseracing data and video streaming on the Watchandwager.com website. The expected launch date for this new initiative is mid-June 2013.

The acquisition of the French PMU content adds to the growing list of thoroughbred and harness racing content available, including its core business of US thoroughbred and harness racing, WatchandWager is now able to offer wagering on racetracks in the following key Tote territories: Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Sweden, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

The contract with the PMU is significant in that many other advanced deposit wagering companies in the US do not currently offer the ability to bet on French content. As a result WatchandWager plans to promote French racing to its US customer base as it seeks to provide a 24/7 international horseracing product to its client base.

Ed Comins, Pari-Mutuel Operations Director of Webis said: “The French have a heavy emphasis on compliance and wagering integrity, and to be granted the PMU rights demonstrates our commitment to these areas. We look forward to promoting French racing in our core market through the summer and in the run up to the prestigious Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe meeting in early October.”

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