UK Tote expands offering with French racing addition

The UK Tote Group has signed an agreement with France’s state-owned horse racing operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), in doing so adding French racing fixtures to its UK and Irish pool offering.

Specifics of the deal see the UK Tote Group cover 7,000 pools from 88 French racecourses each year, including 262 pattern contests, offering PMU’s exclusive pool betting monopoly on French horse racing to British and Irish bettors.

International cooperation with other pool/tote betting operators has been a key priority of the UK Tote Group and its strategy towards horse racing, perhaps best exemplified by its role in the World Pool.

Alex Frost, CEO of the UK Tote Group, and Jamie Hart, the company’s B2C and Liquidity Director, have both previously emphasised the importance of international cooperation for horse racing in separate interviews with SBC Leaders and SBC News, respectively.

Commenting on the PMU agreement, Frost remarked: “We are delighted to work with the PMU on this incredibly positive development for UK and Irish racing fans, which will also drive increased revenues for the grassroots of French racing. 

“By commingling our UK pool into the French pool, British and Irish Tote customers can bet into huge pools on the top-class racing action from France. “With huge liquidity in pools, there is great value available on every race with winning customers welcomed at the Tote. 

“I would like to thank the PMU team for their cooperation and support, and we wish everyone a successful weekend ahead of two fantastic days of racing at Longchamp.”

UK Tote’s plans for the rollout commence this weekend at Longchamp, as Frost alluded to, starting on Sunday with the Prix De l’Arc De Triomphe fixture.

The partners will offer the six most popular tote bet types on French racing events – win, place, exacta, trifecta, quinella and swinger. The London-based UK Tote then plans to add more bet types ‘in due course’.

As the state-backed French pool betting operator, PMU holds a significant monopoly over betting on horse racing in the country. 

Together with the La Français des Jeux (FDJ) betting operator, the pairing’s revenue amounted to 78% of total French GGR during H1 2023 according to the latest Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) figures.

Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet, CEO of PMU, said: “This agreement is a strategic milestone in our long-standing partnership with UK Tote Group. 

“We are very proud of this new step that marks the recognition of our expertise as a global horse racing operator and highlights the excellence of French races. This exciting development will enhance the already highly attractive horse betting offering of the UK Tote.”