February 14, 2014, California ~ The P.M.U. (Pari Mutuel Urbain), the French state-controlled betting system and the largest horse racing tote operator in Europe, has stated that it will invest 130 Million Euros to modernize the Points of Sale by 2015.

The PMU 2020 project is laying the groundwork for the next generation. Sales outlets in France are integrated into the lives of the French people, creating social bonds in neighborhoods and villages. These outlets are the backbone of PMU’s activities, providing 90% of its turnover.

The French bureaux de presse (news agent), is where you can have a coffee, a drink, buy magazines and tobacco, add minutes to your phone card, and gamble at the same time. In small villages, the café PMU is generally the meeting place of elderly people and provides a social center for the community.

“We have a call for ideas (RFP – Request for Proposal) to redesign the points of sale and we will test the new ideas,” stated Philippe Germond, the President of the P.M.U. “Our goal is to strongly modernize the image of the physical places. Part of the objective of P.M.U. 2020 is to invest and diversify, otherwise, we will decline.”

The average age of current offline punters is between 35 and 54, and by targeting younger punters the group will assure regular clients for the next generation.

The group has already integrated many mobile and online elements into its retail structure to make the customer journey as smooth as possible. The online side of the business is not at present the main focus nor its bread and butter, but the PMU is being pro-active to to serve the French horse racing industry, set up the future, and protect the thousands of jobs linked to it. PMU’s international expansion plans and the 87 percent overall growth in stakes the group enjoyed outside of France in 2012 (€176.4 million in 2011 and €329.6 million in 2012), will only add to the bottom line which supports horse racing in France. The future of the P.M.U. seems well in hand.

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