French betting firm Pari Mutuel Urbain has been ordered by France's Competition Authority, l'Autorité de la concurrence to separate its online horse racing business from its retail shops, as the regulator claimed that PMU unfairly benefitting from shared liquidity.
The order to separate the businesses comes after BetClic filed a complaint in 2012 in which it alleged that PMU holds an unfair advantage with its retail and onlnie operations. That allegation was backed up by the regulator, who claimed that PMU's competitors cannot effectively compete against the group, given the resources that PMU holds.
PMU currently has a stranglehold on the horse racing industry in France, as it holds 85% of the marketshare. Last year the group brought in €8 billion in retail and €1 billion online.
PMU is being given until September 30th, 2015 to complete the separation.