Unibet has signed an agreement with the French sports betting operator France Pari to offer sports betting to the French market under the controlled opening. France Pari, who are licensed under the new French regulation, will provide Unibet’s customers with sport betting products as of this week.
The terms and conditions for the controlled opening of the French online market are very challenging in the short term, but can long term create good opportunities. To allow as much flexibility as possible and not affect Unibet’s other business, the Group has chosen to address the controlled opening initially through partnerships.
Besides the agreement with France Pari, Unibet has also signed an agreement with Ongame to provide poker on the French market, and a letter of intent with Zeturf regarding horse racing pool liquidity. Both poker and French horse racing will be available on Unibet.fr by end of the third quarter 2010.
“We are very happy to announce that, although we have not yet been granted a French license, we can still provide our customers with a sport betting product ahead of the upcoming World Cup in football”, says Petter Nylander, CEO Unibet.
For more information:
Petter Nylander, CEO Unibet +44 7799 873 152
About Unibet
Unibet was founded in 1997 and is an online gambling company is listed on NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. Unibet is one of the largest privately-owned gambling operators in the European market and provides services in 27 languages through www.unibet.com. Today, Unibet has more than 4.4 million customers in over 100 countries. Unibet is a member of the EGBA, European Gaming and Betting Association, RGA, Remote Gambling Association in the UK and is audited and certified by eCOGRA in relation to responsible and fair gaming.
In December 2007, Unibet acquired Maria Holdings (www.mariabingo.com), the largest online bingo operator in the Nordic market, and in April 2008 acquired Scandinavia’s largest trotting community, Travnet.
More information about Unibet Group plc can be found on www.unibetgroupplc.com
About France Pari
France Pari is one of the major new players on the French online betting market, and develops itself through co-branding deals. Its betting platform has been online since one year at www.france-pari.fr. The company has signed many co-branding agreements in the sports area : RC Lens (Football Ligue1), RC Toulon and Albi (Rugby Top14), Paris Volley Club, Roanne and Orléans (Basket, ProA), but also with medias such as Sud Radio or mobile operators such as NRJ Mobile, CIC Mobile, Credit Mutuel Mobile and Goojet.
The company is backed by three major French champions : Alain Prost (4 times F1 winner), Franck Leboeuf (FIFA WC 98 Winner) and Fabien Pelous (Recordman of caps in the French Rugby team).
Founded in 2008, the company is based near Toulouse. www.france-pari.org
About Ongame Network
Ongame Network was founded in 1999 and is a leading supplier of online poker software and one of the world’s largest and most dynamic poker networks.
Further information can be found at www.ongamenetwork.com
About Zeturf
Zeturf is a pool betting operator, launched in 2001 which has become the main source of information on French horse racing,
Further information can be found at www.zeturf.com