fr draining 7 million Internet users per month

While the Bill on the opening of the market is not yet adopted, operators of online games, and particularly the "historical", French games and the PMU, are engaged in a frantic race to partnerships with the major media. Objective: to position itself at a crossroads of hearing likely to provide both visibility and traffic.

These days, two agreements, considered "structured" by Isabelle Parize, Managing Director of Mangas Gaming, the holding company of Betclick, were signed. On 28 January, the PMU has partnered closely with RMC radio. It is, first, to create a dozen daily Rendezvous "animated on a new tone mixing racing specialists with sports columnists as Luis Fernandez", said the spokesman for the paris horse strategy. In line of these emissions, it is planned to extend the partnership to prognostications on sports betting programs when they will be allowed in line. But, most importantly, perhaps, is the translation of this alliance on the CMJ site where visitors will be directed to PMU.fr for bet. According to our information, this agreement would cost 3 to 4 million euros to the PMU. Which, in parallel, contributes to the creation of a horse racing channel on TF1.fr and prepares associations with the Figaro group, in a spirit of "lifestyle" on Figaro.fr, "sports" on Sport24 and "shortcut" on Tvmag, the site of his television supplement. Moreover, recall that the PMU is present on France 3 through the dissemination of horse racing.

February 2, it is the Française des Jeux announced a "strategic" partnership with... TF1. Here also, the logic is clear. Next to the purchase of advertising space or sponsorship and short programs, the JDF becomes single operator of games of TF1.fr draining 7 million Internet users per month. An association confirming, incidentally, that the one is not to exploit the Eurosportbet mark yet launched by its subsidiary Eurosport and fund Serendipity.

Canal debate

The JDF also enjoys on the chains of France television programming to sports betting, including "Score & match", already proposed. The incumbent operator is sponsoring also the emissions of the Canal group dedicated to football, the channel Football Club broadcast in clear before the League match on Sunday evening and which will become daily during the next World Cup (in football, as a deal with the League of professional football he completes). The French games has, moreover, a strong presence on RTL, leader of the French radio in terms of hearing. Finally, negotiations are underway, according to our information, with Orange, for mobile phones.

In the end, major media outlets are being préemptés by the PMU and the Française des Jeux. M6 has not yet partner of games online, but is disabled by owning the Girondins de Bordeaux, which puts it in a potential conflict of interest situation. With Amaury, the group owner of "The team", undisputed leader in the sports press, confirm the launch of its own site, Sajoo.fr, subject of a joint venture between Amaury (55) and Bwin (45), and who would claim a licence as soon as possible. On Canal , its leaders dither. They appear to be towards an alliance with a foreign operator who would operate in France under the single brand Canal .fr. The only way according to them, to avoid that a third party captures their very strategic subscriber base. But nothing is decided. And internally, the debate is also raging on the possible establishment of programs of prognostications. "Some people believe that do not pollute the programs offered to subscribers sport fans." Others, that is, on the contrary, a service to offer. "If this is done, it will be certainly separate dedicated strictly sports programs", find a good connoisseur of the pay channel.

Europe 1, him, after an agreement in principle with Betclic, but both partners are waiting for the vote of the Act to implement. Unibet, as Betclick, had responded to the tender CTMR, but to no avail. "Obviously, the PMU and the French games finance the launch of an activity which is not profitable in France with the money of their networks and hard before even the opening of the market thanks to products that they can already offer the bettor, as racing on SMR or games of chance on TF1, for example" view, bitterIsabelle Parize. With the recruitment, announced last Friday, Tony Parker as "Ambassador" for basketball, BetClic shows however that it is not yet the sentence on the media plan.