Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
PMU reshuffles management deck as first step of restructuring project
Metric Gaming set to close down as Dutch operators scramble for new providers
YieldSec black market estimates questioned
Belgium bolsters regulator with new appointments
News shorts: Underdog-Crypto.com, Allwyn, Sweden
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PMU Chairman steps down
Move comes as MP Eric Woerth takes control of PMU’s restructuring project
PMU’s perestroika: PMU has started reforming its management structure as part of its ‘Pacte PMU 2030’ project to rejuvenate its operations with the news that Joël Séché will replace Richard Viel as Chairman of the board. The move is temporary and will see Séché assume the role for the next six months, but is also not surprising as Viel had already intimated that he would be stepping down during this summer’s annual get together of French horse breeders in August.
PMU’s statutes dictate that Séché, as the oldest board member, leads the group’s senior management while it searches for a replacement to work with a new CEO following the departure of Emannuelle Malecaze-Doublet.
Woerth’s pact: The move’s timing is also not surprising in that it marks the first days of MP Eric Woerth taking charge of the group’s ‘Pacte PMU 2030’ project. PMU confirmed this in a statement: “Richard Viel's departure comes as the recruitment of a new Chairman-CEO pairing by the parent companies and the State continues, and forms part of the implementation of ‘Pacte PMU 2030’ and the work to prefigure the company's new governance led by Éric Woerth.”
Knows the sector: The MP is highly familiar with horse racing and online gambling. His constituency includes the equestrian stronghold of Chantilly and he was the minister in charge of France’s regulated online poker and sports betting launch in 2010.
For PMU, the next few months are likely to be rich in news. As the group embarks on its restructuring project it is finalising a new PAM platform partnership, which could also lead to it signing up to a new betting solution provider.
Fixed odds stall: Indeed, as an ‘historic’ operator in France and one of Europe's largest horse racing totes, PMU should also be a leading online sports betting brand in the market. However, after a good start post-2010 regulation, its fixed odds betting business has stalled. What's more, while PMU's online liquidity still dominates the market, it faces competition from Betclic and ZETurf (number 2 on the market) and Unibet, the two FDJ United brands.
Unity required: One of the factors that will also play a major role in the group's ability to diversify and achieve tangible success in OSB will be whether it obtains the support of one of its institutional stakeholders, France’s national trotting body SETF, for the project. To date SETF has shown little interest in any new segment or activities, as well as in terms of reforming the way it operates.
Both Viel’s and Malecaze-Doublet’s mandates ran until 2026, but both executives decided to step down early. The news has been soundtracked by disagreement between its institutional stakeholders over the corporation's future direction.
According to Paris-Turf, the government insisted on Séché assuming the role on an interim basis, presumably to maintain stability.
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Betnation and ComeOn go offline in Holland
Financial troubles at sportsbook provider Metric Gaming impact Dutch operators
Tough metrics: The sports betting solution provider Metric Gaming is set to shut down all operations due to a lack of volume and revenues from its client roster. The news has not yet been confirmed by Metric, but it follows the announcement that Betnation and ComeOn, two Dutch-facing Metric clients, had ceased trading as of this Monday.
Betnation and ComeOn are said to be working on new supply deals with betting solutions providers, while ComeOn operates its own brands as well as 888’s Dutch-facing website.
The two companies announced the partnership at the end of July as part of a deal that sees 888 parent company Evoke re-enter the Dutch with ComeOn managing the brand’s day-to-day operations.
Read the full story on SBC News
ANJ names Sophia Namer as new Director of Enforcement Action
Magistrate will lead the fight against illegal operators
Naming rights: Sophia Namer has been appointed as the Autorité Nationale des Jeux’s new Director of Enforcement Action. She will be responsible for stepping up law enforcement and the fight against illegal operators as the French regulator implements the guidelines set out in its 2024-2026 strategic plan, which focuses on reducing the impact of problem gambling, the risks of addiction and protecting minors.
The new unit was established in July ANJ and will focus on monitoring markets, data and steering the web3-NFT JONUM experiment towards regulation. Namer has been an administrative magistrate for six years and will be supported by Deputy director Jérôme Labarbe.
Before joining ANJ, she was an advisor to the Director of Legal Affairs at the French Ministries for Spatial Planning and Ecological Transition. ANJ has also established a Data, markets and innovation directorate to strengthen economic supervision and support for innovation.
EU black market “worth €80bn’ in 2024, report claims
BGC seizes on numbers to bolster tax campaign - but experts question validity
Black magic figures: Black market operators accounted for 71% of GGR across the 27 EU member states in 2024, amounting to €80.6bn of a €114.3bn market, according to new data from software company YieldSec. The report, commissioned by the European Casino Association, suggests 92% of gambling-related online content was linked to unlicensed platforms, with 81m Europeans - around 18% of the population - interacting with illegal gambling services.
The report estimates this led to a €20bn loss in tax revenue for EU governments in 2024 and says that illegal operators generated €2.40 for every €1 earned by legal firms.
The UK Betting and Gaming Council immediately seized upon the figures to bolster its campaign against planned betting tax hikes. CEO Grainne Hurst told City AM: “This worrying research underlines the very real threat posed by the growing, unsafe gambling black market.”
But Eilers & Krejcik analyst Alun Bowden dismissed the headline number of €80.6bn as “palpably ridiculous”. “I’m sure whoever came up with it has a valid methodology but it just doesn’t make sense in reality and I can’t believe we’re putting it forward as credible,” he said.
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Belgium bolsters gambling regulator
Appointment of 12 new members comes as black market fears grow
By royal appointment: Belgium has completed a major reshuffle of its gambling regulator, the Kansspelcommissie, with 12 new members appointed by King Philippe for a six-year mandate, beginning on September 1. The group includes six primary members and six alternates, drawn from five key ministries: Finance (including the National Lottery), Justice, Public Health, Economy, and Interior. Each ministry has both Dutch- and French-speaking representatives, reflecting the country’s bilingual framework.
The appointments come at a sensitive time for Belgian gambling policy. Lawmakers have tightened restrictions on advertising, sponsorship and age limits, while concerns are growing over the rapid expansion of unlicensed online operators. Recent industry estimates suggest 25% of gamblers in Belgium are using the black market.
The Kansspelcommissie has struggled to keep pace with the growth of gambling in Belgium, partly due to a lack of resources, the new appointments will aim to bolster the regulator’s efforts to support legal operators and combat the black market.
News shorts
DFS operator Underdog has teamed up with Crypto.com to launch sports prediction markets across 16 US states. The partnership - described as an “immediate needle-mover in the prediction markets space” by one industry watcher - sees Underdog becoming the first sports-gaming platform to enter this market, offering real-time trading on NFL, NBA, MLB, and college football outcomes, through event contracts provided by Crypto.com’s Derivatives North America (CDNA) arm.
The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has penalised Optdeck, the local operator behind the FDJ United’s Unibet brand for offering bets on prohibited markets. The bets included markets for corners, yellow cards and matches involving players under the age of 21. The violations occurred multiple times between October 2022 and May 2025, with the KSA imposing a weekly penalty of €75,000, capped at €450,000.
Allwyn has emerged as the most likely buyer of PrizePicks, with media reports suggesting the European lottery and gaming giant is prepared to pay over $2bn to acquire the US-based DFS operator. PrizePicks hired advisors Moelis to advise on its M&A options last year, seeking a valuation of as much as 10x its EBITDA of $250m. Its recent move to a fully peer-to-peer model has been widely seen as a way of opening the door for a potential sale, removing some regulatory hurdles.
Sweden’s Gambling Authority has identified online casinos as the key weakness in the country’s channelisation strategy. The regulator estimated that 85% of all gambling in 2024 occurred in the licensed market (vs 86% in 2023), with online casinos the outlier, with just 72% of play channelised, compared to around 90% for sports betting. Responding to the figures, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling warned that strict measures, such as a blanket ban on bonuses, are driving players toward unlicensed sites.
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