FDJ United maintains course amid impact of tax and regulatory changes
The French gambling operator expects zero growth this year.
France.- The French gambling giant FDJ United has reported that revenue came in at €1.87m for the first half of 2025. That’s a rise of 31 per cent year-on-year following its acquisition of Kindred Group but a drop of 2 per cent on a restated basis.
French lottery and retail sports betting revenue hit €1.29m, up 4 per cent on a restated basis, with lottery up 6 per cent at €1.07m on the back of strong digital growth. Point-of-sale sports betting revenue fell by 6 per cent to €225m, reflecting unfavourable sports results, although stakes were up 4 per cent due to an attractive football offering.
Online betting and gaming revenue was €466m, down 12 per cent on a restated basis due to an unfavourable comparison base owing to Euro 2024 football tournament in the same period last year but also because of the impact of the rise in Dutch gambling tax and new online casino restrictions in the UK.
The operator noted that excluding the UK and the Netherlands, revenue would have been up 5 per cent thanks to the performance of other countries, including France. However, it now expects to feel the pinch on its home turf too due to the French gambling tax hike introduced this month. FDJ has previously said that it hopes to aborb the hit, but that this will be its first year of zero growth since 2019.
Second-quarter revenue came to €235m, up +2 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2025
Recurring EBITDA was €441m, representing a margin of 23.6 per cent and adjusted net income was €222m. This reflects the impact of the financing of its Kindred acquisition.
For the year as a whole, FDJ has maintained its objective of stable revenue versus 2024 pro forma, with a recurring EBITDA margin of over 24 per cent. It said its employee share ownership plan that aims to bring the share of capital held by employees to 4.6 per cent had been taken up by more than half of employees and was largely oversubscribed.
