"It's not worth it anymore": PMU in dire straits with fewer and fewer punters

The government has announced a "PMU 2030 Pact" to boost Europe's leading horse racing operator. Gamblers lament what they believe are often low winnings.

Horse racing betting is in freefall. PMU, Europe's leading horse racing operator, is seeing its punters flee, with €6.6 billion in stakes in 2024, a 2% drop year-on-year. This year is not synonymous with recovery, as the operator has suffered a further 4% decline in betting since the beginning of the year. To address this, the government announced a "PMU 2030 Pact" on Wednesday, August 13. The objective is to change the operator's governance and group status in order to return to growth.

The "turfistes," horse racing betting enthusiasts, are very critical of the PMU. Many no longer find their way around. Take Zorba, a small Parisian bar filled with regulars. "The winnings are simply too low," laments Gérard, a long-time punter. "Before, you could put in 30, 40, or even 50 euros, but today, it's not worth it at all. I put in three or six euros per race. You have to be a masochist to bet more." Djamel, wearing a small boater hat, agrees with Gérard's words. "In 1996, I won the equivalent in francs of 15,000 euros. Today, it would be winnings of 1,000 euros, perhaps. It's all over. There are too many races, too much at stake. We don't know where to go anymore."

Some punters no longer trust the operator. Accusations of cheating are rife in the bar. "If the favorite has €200,000 in bets, we can tell him to make a mistake to share the winnings," suggests one punter. In addition to these significantly declining winnings, which they say are no longer as attractive, there's also a generational divide.

In this bar-PMU, only Junior is part of the new generation, and he's not a regular at horse racing. "Everyone has turned to football betting," smiles the young man, wearing a Paris Saint-Germain jersey. "With football and tennis, today, you have a better chance of winning. I've already won 5,000 euros and 10,000 euros . Horse racing is much more technical. It's more of an old-school thing; we lose most of the time. So it's not really motivating."

Zorba estimates it has lost a third of its horse bettors in six years. The bar has now decided to focus more on evening events and drinks to compensate for this loss. For its part, the National Association of Horseracing Clubs believes that bringing horses back to the forefront would require greater exposure, particularly on major TV channels.