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Viewing cable 07BAMAKO1322, A SURE BET: HORSE-BETTING FILLS MALI STATE'S

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07BAMAKO1322 2007-11-09 07:32 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Bamako
VZCZCXRO2521
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #1322/01 3130732
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090732Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8397
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 001322 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN ML
SUBJECT: A SURE BET: HORSE-BETTING FILLS MALI STATE'S 
COFFERS 
 
1.  Summary:  On October 25 off-track horse-betting fans in 
Mali were able, for the first time, to place bets on 
real-time horse races beamed direct from race tracks in 
France.  The two live-feed offices complement what has 
become, since 1994, one of the most profitable state-owned 
enterprises in Mali and a key source of income for the Malian 
government.  Despite legal and religious barriers that, until 
1994, rendered organized gambling taboo in Mali, profits from 
off-track betting now gross more than USD 42 million annually 
for the Malian government, some of which funds a variety of 
development projects, but most of which is classified by the 
Malian government as "general budget support."  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
ALL BETS ARE ON: PMU JUMPS LEGAL AND RELIGIOUS HURDLES 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
2.  Off-track betting on French horse races was introduced in 
Mali in 1994 as a revenue-generating activity for the Malian 
government.  Government officials tasked the then-Secretary 
General at the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation, 
Harouna Niang, to bring the French-based joint venture 
company Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) to Mali to help reduce the 
national deficit while building up basic infrastructure.  The 
government's intent was to allocate the profits for "anything 
of general interest." 
 
3.  Niang's first challenge was overcoming legal restrictions 
that appeared to outlaw gambling in Mali.  Article 186, 
Section VI of the Malian penal code outlaws gambling "except 
where the law fixes certain conditions."  Malian lawmakers 
consequently ratified a law fixing off-track betting as one 
of these "conditions."  Overcoming religious objections to 
gambling proved more challenging.  In a country that is more 
than 90 percent Muslim, many Malians believe gambling is 
forbidden by Islamic law.  Opposition to PMU-Mali is easy to 
find among Mali's Muslim leadership.  In the words of one 
Sunni Imam, Cheick Amadou Diakite, who runs a large mosque 
near Bamako's international airport, "all money derived from 
games of chance is dirty money."  In response to objections 
from Mali's Islamic community, government officials argued 
that the Prophet Mohammed himself enjoyed attending horse 
races and added that most of the horses raced in France today 
are of Arabian descent. 
 
4.  PMU's franchise in Mali was organized as a 75% 
state-owned enterprise, leaving 25% to private investors so 
that PMU-Mali could be organized under private rather than 
public equity law.  A company with even one private 
shareholder in Mali is accountable to private instead of 
public law which in theory makes the enterprise more 
transparent as the company must report to a Board of 
Directors, composed of public and private members, instead of 
reporting only to a government ministry. 
 
----------------------- 
THE MONEY IN THE HORSES 
----------------------- 
 
5.  According to Idrissa Haidara, President of PMU-Mali, PMU 
generates around USD 42 million in profits for Mali annually. 
 During PMU's tenure, Mali has allocated USD 18 million to 
projects such as ramping up security forces, improving 
education by building high schools and auditoriums, creating 
a fire department and emergency response system, extending 
the national television network, and developing a program to 
fight poverty.  The remainder of the funds have been used for 
general budget support. 
 
------------------- 
EMPLOYMENT CREATION 
------------------- 
 
6.  Haidara believes that the horse-betting business has 
created more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs for the 
domestic economy.  The PMU counts 75 permanent employees, 800 
ticket sellers, and 300 ticket sorters.  In addition to these 
direct hires, the PMU has created indirect employment with 
printing businesses and betting newspapers. 
 
7.  Certified vendors sell betting slips at formal or 
informal kiosks around the country, and may also employ 
others to sell betting slips for them for a percent of the 
profits.  Vendors make a 3% commission on their sales.  One 
vendor estimated he could make anywhere from 50 to 400 USD 
per month.  Vendors work in all regions of the country except 
Kidal in northern Mali, where distances are too far to allow 
betting slips to make their way to PMU headquarters in 
Bamako.  Most of those betting on races in Mali are men. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
 
BAMAKO 00001322  002 OF 002 
 
 
------- 
 
8.  Since its arrival in Mali in 1994, PMU has clearly made 
substantial sums of money for shareholders in both Mali and 
France, and is now an entrenched economic interest.  While 
Malian Islamic leaders continue to oppose PMU-Mali and 
state-sanctioned gambling, they have largely accepted the 
fact that off-track betting is now a facet of Malian society. 
 While some of the funds have gone to worthy projects, it is 
unclear that operating costs and "general budget support" 
have generated more jobs than if Malians spent their funds in 
other ways.  That said, PMU has met with widespread public 
acceptance, provides a badly needed revenue stream for the 
goverment---and some betters occasionally win. 
McCulley