Tax and heatwaves hit FDJ United’s H1 profit and revenue
The French gambling operator has revised its outlook amid a decline in earnings and gross gaming revenue, with the lottery segment hit by lower traffic.
France.- The French gambling giant FDJ United has reported a downturn in profit and gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first half of 2026. The operator blamed higher taxes and underperformance in its lottery division as key factors.
The group has revised down its full-year outlook, now expecting stable GGR rather than the slight growth forecast previously. Profit is now expected to fall in low single digits.
The group’s H1 results showed earnings down 4.5 per cent year-on-year to €1.78bn off a 1.3 per cent drop in GGR to €4.31bn. Chairwoman and CEO Stéphane Pallez pointed to tax hikes in France, Romania, the UK and the Netherlands as major contributors, saying that earnings were hit by the “impact of approximately €52m in gaming tax increases.”
Aside from the tax hit, lottery GGR was down 2.1 per cent to €2.98bn. FDJ put this down to fewer and lower big Euromillions jackpots compared to 2025 and lower traffic at points of sale in Q2 due to the severe heatwaves in France. Retail sports betting also struggled, recording a 1.1 per cent decline in GGR to €450m despite onset of World Cup betting in June.
FDJ’s online betting and gaming unit fared better. Although higher taxes hit profit, GGR remained stable at €702m. France and Scandinavia led growth. Excluding the UK and Netherlands, the unit’s GGR rose 6.6 per cent.
FDJ has launched “targeted task forces” to tackle its challenges in the UK and Netherlands, aiming to increase collaboration. In the Netherlands, it saw some improvement over the period. Q1 GGR was down 15 per cent, but Q2 GGR was down only 4.1 per cent.
While the company has previously rejected suggestions it might bail out from the UK, the company has now hinted at a review of Kindred’s portfolio, with Pallez confirming that the company is “looking at all our assets.”
