French state-owned horse betting operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) has announced a significant personnel appointment. Cyrille Giraudat will officially take over as the new CEO of the company at the beginning of January 2026, succeeding the predecessor who left office in September this year. This appointment has been approved by several government departments, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Public Action and Accounts. Interestingly, this marks Giraudat's "return to his old employer" after many years, having served PMU from 2004 to 2014.
The Veteran Returns: The New CEO's "Dual Identity" and Mission
Cyrille Giraudat's appointment can be described as an "old acquaintance" taking over. Before joining PMU, his most recent position was as the Director of Marketing, Customer and Digital Business at real estate group Nexity. Earlier, he also held senior management positions at transportation operator RATP Dev and car rental company Europcar Group. However, a key part of his career was spent at PMU, where he served as the Director of Marketing, Customer, and Digital for ten years.
PMU states that after taking office, Giraudat's main focus will be on accelerating the company's transformation and development, and under the framework of sustainable and responsible gambling, striving to improve customer satisfaction. His return undoubtedly carries the expectation of leading this traditional monopoly operator to face digital challenges.
Business Boundaries and Industry Debate: The "Legal Limbo" of Online Casinos
PMU's core business is still horse race betting, and it monopolizes the off-track horse betting market. In recent years, it has expanded its business to online sports betting and poker. However, this almost touches the "ceiling" of online business under current French law—online casino games are not yet legalized in France.
The debate on whether to open up online casinos continues to ferment in the French industry. The online gambling association AFJEL recently pointed out that due to illegal operations, France loses about 1.2 billion euros annually to illegal online casinos. They call on the government to legalize it, to establish a regulated market and generate tax revenue for the country. However, Casinos de France, the main industry association representing French land casinos, strongly opposes this, arguing that the so-called huge losses "do not exist," and legalization would lead to a reduction of several billion euros in public financing and cause "massive" unemployment and business closures. The direction of this policy struggle will profoundly affect all market participants, including PMU. For global regulatory trends, follow the subsequent analysis on the PASA official website.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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