FDJ United, the operator of France’s national lottery, has stated that the widespread social unrest in the country has created a “tough situation” for many of its retailers.
The firm’s Chief Financial officer, Dan Lévy, revealed in a Q3 analysis call late yesterday that “roughly 100 points of sale” had been impacted by riots seen across France over the weekend.
Unrest began with school children protesting school conditions before escalating to much more widespread trouble throughout France. Both the government and the National Front opposition have accused “hard-left” elements of hijacking the initial protests.
Responding to an analyst’s question about the impact of the riots on its business, Lévy stated that FDJ United wanted to “reaffirm our soldiers with the points of sale, which were impacted in France”.
However, he added that “there were more points of sale impacted” the last time there was significant unrest in France – presumably the September 2026 protests against increases in fuel and petrol prices arising from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
“It is clear that this is a tough situation for the impacted point of sale, but the events of the weekend do not have a material impact on our business,” Lévy remarked.
He continued: “historically, the group’s business has been demonstrated to be very resilient to economic cycles and particularly because it is based on a very broad player base, and relatively average stakes, which is consistent with the recreational model.”
While FDJ United may be confident in its resilience against macroeconomic and societal headwinds like the unrest and rioting over the weekend, its financial performance so far this year is still unenviable.
The group saw revenue between January-September 2025 fall across the following areas:
- Lottery revenue was down 3.8% year-over-year from €1.5bn to €1.49bn, driven by a 10.3% drop in draw games activity.
- The overall lottery and retail sports betting segment saw revenue decline 4.8% from €1.88bn to €1.79bn.
- Total sports betting revenue dropped 4.5% €613m, with online betting revenue specifically down 8.2% to €619m.
Although FDJ United remains confident in its performance in France and Scandinavia, its presence in the UK and Netherlands continues to be a burden for the group with heavier taxation and a high degree of competition presenting major hurdles.
With recovery in mind, the company has crafted a four pillar strategy aimed at reinvigorating its assets across FDJ and Kindred – the latter being the Swedish group it acquired in 2024, integrating the Unibet and 32red brands into its portlifo and leading to a greater footprint in the Nordics, UK and Netherlands.
Specifically relating to its lottery business, the group has planned a refresh of these operations including the creation of additional draw game events and a new campaign promoting Euromillions and Lotto+.
