FDJ United’s financial performance during the opening quarter of the year showed a mixed bag across its lottery, betting and gaming verticals.
The newly rebranded group, which took on a new identity after purchasing Swedish betting group Kindred in late 2024, reported group-wide revenue of €925m.
This marked a 1% drop on the previous year and a decline on the €988m recorded in Q4 2024, although the company still remains one of France’s market leaders in both lottery and betting.
Meanwhile, 2023 and 2024 also saw the company expand internationally, having acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), the operator of the Irish National Lottery, in late 2023 and continuing its consolidation of this business in 2024.
Regarding its accounts, FDJ’s lottery and retail betting revenue was up 36% from €618m to €640m, providing a bulwark against a difficult performance for its online division with lottery revenue up 5% to €528m.
Retail betting revenue – which is included in the same business unit as French lottery income – was up 2% year-over-year to €561m. FDJ cited the wide range of European football fixtures, like the expanded Champions League, and continued demand for French domestic football betting, as key to increase in revenue.
However, while its home market lottery activity may have been positive it seems its international activity – namely as operator of the Irish lottery – is facing some tough adjustments. International lottery revenue was down 21.8% from €49m to €38m.
“FDJ United performance in the first quarter is in line with the trajectory planned for 2025,” said Stéphane Pallez, FDJ United CEO and Chairwoman.
Breaking down FDJ’s product portfolio
As stated above, FDJ’s home market lottery revenue was up 5% YoY in Q1. The group stated that draw games like the euromillions were ‘performing very well’ during Q1 trading, particularly when the €130m super-jackpot was launched on 7 March and won at €250m on 28 March.
The group has also noted particularly improvements in online engagement, such as via the launch of instant games. This helped drive online lottery revenue 14% to €79m to now account for 15% of lottery games revenue, with over 5.8 million players.
In contrast to FDJ’s retail betting and lottery units, however, online betting income suffered during Q1. This is despite the company completing its takeover of Kindred Group, operator of the Unibet sportsbook, in October, in what was a significant expansion of its sportsbook activity.
FDJ outlined a 10% drop in betting and gaming revenue from €256m to €231m. This was due to regulatory transitions in the UK and Netherlands as well as an increase in taxation in the latter, where revenue fell 41%.
The group is still confident though, with active player numbers up 10% year-over-year and 5% from Q4 2024, adding that sports betting revenue would have risen 8% YoY if the difficult markets of the UK and Netherlands were excluded.
Pallez continued on the betting performance: “Against the backdrop of tougher regulation and taxation in some of its markets, it reflects good momentum in points of sale and an increase in the number of online active players in all its markets.
“Beyond this, the Group is fully committed to the transformation associated with the implementation of its international and digital strategy.“