FDJ reports 14% jump in revenue in Q1

The French lottery operator has reported revenue of €613m for the first quarter of the year.

France.- The national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) has reported revenue of €613m for its first quarter. That’s an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year. Stakes rose 10.2 per cent year-on-year to €5.06bn.

Its revenue from lottery operations, its biggest earner, rose 14 per cent, reaching €466.7m in the quarter. Total lottery stakes were up 15.2 per cent year-on-year at €3.99bn. Draw game stakes rose 9.5 per cent to €1.47bn, thanks to the Amigo draw.

Meanwhile instant games attracted stakes of €2.52bn, up 19 per cent, with  “3 in 1”, Baraka, and Cash performing well.

Online lottery revenue was up by 15.3 per cent, with stakes reaching €575m – 11 per cent of stakes for the quarter. Retail stakes rose by 11.5 per cent to €4.48bn, aided by marketing and sales initiatives.

Sports betting revenue grew 13.4 per cent to €128.5m despite players’ stakes falling by 5.2 per cent to €1.06bn. FDJ said this was due to unexpected results, especially in football.

FDJ chairwoman and chief executive Stéphane Pallez said: “The start of the year was marked by strong growth in all our business verticals, across all sales channels. The strong growth in lottery and sports betting revenues was driven by our network of 30,000 retail outlets and a solid online activity.

“We are also very proud of Moody’s ESG Solutions’ A1+ sustainability rating awarded to FDJ for the fourth year in a row. This good financial and extra-financial performance underpins our strategy of sustainable and profitable growth and our outlook for 2022.”

Earlier this month, the FDJ launched a new safer gambling campaign that aims to reduce gambling harm. The campaign involves four 30-second films that stress the importance of gambling rules.

They highlight the 18 plus age limit of gambling and FDJ’s safer gambling tools, including the ability to set limits. The tools include Playscan, which informs players about the level of risk of their gambling practice, plus online gambling moderators to set financial and time limits on gaming.

The launch of the campaign comes after the French gambling regulator L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) warned that operators need to do more to reduce the “intensity” of their marketing.