Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) has named Cyrille Giraudat its new CEO, tasked with accelerating the development of the group’s sportsbook and gaming ambitions to advance the group’s wider transformation goals.
Giraudat will take leadership of PMU from January 2026, succeeding Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet, who stepped down earlier this year, with Christophe Curt having served as interim CEO.
The appointment marks a return to PMU for Giraudat, who spent a decade at the operator between 2004 and 2014, leading marketing, customer and digital strategy during a period widely regarded as a high-growth phase following France’s regulated online betting launch in 2010.
Confirming the appointment, PMU stated that “Giraudat’s priorities will focus on accelerating the development and transformation of PMU and strengthening customer satisfaction within a sustainable and responsible gaming framework.”
His directives will be central to the execution of Pacte PMU 2030, the group’s transformation and restructuring strategy. Giraudat will work alongside incoming PMU President Eric Woerth, the former French Minister who oversaw the country’s 2010 gambling regulation and is now piloting the Pacte PMU 2030 project.
Strategic priorities are expected to include a revamp of PMU’s core horse racing product, a project which remains unfinished following the resignation of Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet.
Proceedings in 2025 saw PMU partner with Kambi Group as its new sportsbook technology supplier. Furthermore, the heritage firm will upgrade its core IT systems and platforms via a PAM partnership with Playtech.
PMU retains a monopoly over off-track retail horseracing betting in France but faces intensifying competition online, particularly from FDJ-owned Zeturf, as regulatory debate continues over the future scope of online gambling in the French market.
The heritage firm’s reform agenda is being pursued against a challenging fiscal backdrop, with the French state maintaining betting taxes at around 50%, a level that the government has confirmed will not be reviewed in 2026.
The high tax burden continues to shape PMU’s transformation priorities as the operator seeks to modernise its product offering and digital capabilities within one of Europe’s most restrictive betting tax regimes.