Robert Lea and Dominic Walsh
Ladbrokes is hoping to crack the French gambling market through a joint venture with Canal+, the country's leading pay-tv company.
Ladbrokes has cemented a deal with Canal+ which will see Britain's biggest bookmaker attempt to lure gamblers on to Ladbrokes' internet betting and gaming website and through the French television channels.
The French gambling market is dominated by the state-run PMU pool betting company and the Française des Jeux lottery company and has been heavily regulated with restrictions on how much money gambling companies can make.
However, the French authorities last year announced plans to relax those regulations and the new rules governing internet gambling were approved by the French parliament this week.
"We currently have no presence in France," a Ladbrokes spokesman said: "It is a very competitive market but it is also a very big market. It will still be highly regulated but it is hoped that it will be further deregulated over time.
"For Ladbrokes it is a small investment with a very strong brand in France and an investment with potentially plenty of upside".
Ladbrokes is putting up an initital €2.25 million (£1.97 million) into the 50:50 joint venture. Canal+ has the option to force Ladbrokes to buy its stake after five years.
John O'Reilly, Ladbrokes' internet betting supremo, who has led the deal, said: "Canal+ is a brand synonymous with sport in France. We believe that there is an opportunity to build a good business in France over time as the market and regulation develop".
The French venture is the last initiative of Chris Bell, the Ladbrokes chief executive, who is being replaced by Richard Glynn of Sporting Index at the end of the month.
Ladbrokes has a chequered history in European expansion. It has outlets in Spain and Belgium but last year quit Italy after failing to make its business there work.
Other bookies are taking a plunge in the French market. Paddy Power has a betting prices supply arrangement with PMU while Sportingbet, the online bookie is teaming with Le Mondenewspaper.
Separately, PMU has signed up PartyGaming to provide it with an internet poker offering.
A number of other tie-ups have also been unveiled, with FDJ signing a deal with Orange that will see the telecoms operator incorporate betting into its French portals.
The state-controlled lottery operator has also signed a sponsorship deal with TF1, France’s largest commercial TV channel, and teamed up with the Barrière casino group to launch online poker.
The online gambling journal e Gaming Review believes several other players are lining up to enter the French market when it opens up later this year, including SPS Betting, the operator of Eurosportsbet, part of the Bouygues conglomerate which owns the Eurosport TV channel.
Another player tipped to make a play is Bwin, the Austrian online gambling group that has a media deal with Amaury Group, the publisher of L’Équipe, the sports newspaper.
Times Online
