The French still love gambling, we read it in the 2022 results of the Française des jeux (FDJ), published on Wednesday February 15: it drained 20.6 billion euros in bets in 2022 (+ 8.7%), with return-to-player rates fluctuating between 63% and 74%. First operator in the sector, heir to the National Lottery, created in 1933 to help the “broken faces” of the First World War and privatized in 2019, it achieved a turnover of 2.46 billion euros ( +9.1%) and generated a net profit of 308 million (+4.7%).
Its CEO, Stéphane Pallez, is pleased that the company is “growing across all of its activities” (Lotto, EuroMillions, scratch games, online sports betting, etc.) and its distribution channels: digital, a space open to competition, which is normalizing after the exuberance of the years 2019-2021; and, above all, the 30,000 points of sale covering France (+ 8% stakes).
The French have not abandoned the bars-tabacs and the press briefings after the health crisis. The parenthesis of Covid-19 closed, “They wanted to come back”welcomes Mme Pallez, who for a moment feared disaffection. Physical sites necessary to offer new services like Nirio, which allows you to pay your rent with your smartphone, while waiting for water and energy bills.
Competitive universe on the Internet
Beyond the lottery, its historic core business exercised as a monopoly, the FDJ is evolving in the very competitive world of gambling on the Internet, authorized since 2010. And to be competitiveemphasized the CEO, the company must be present in the three segments of sports betting, poker and horse racing. » It has launched a poker offer on its Parions Sport application and is going to buy ZEturf, a company well known to gamblers riveted to their screen. Valued at 175 million euros, it will moderately burden its cash flow, which amounts to 1 billion euros.
Mme Pallez finds that the increase in activity is less due to the inflation of stakes than to the growing number of bettors. “We are constantly strengthening our actions to prevent excessive and underage gambling”, she assures. The FDJ has devoted 15 million euros to it; his “2,700 mystery visits” in the points of sale led to the suspension of approval of a hundred traders.
Official studies count 1 million players “moderate risk” and 350,000 cases “pathological”. Without noticing any serious drift, the Observatory for Drugs and Addictive Tendencies notes “the growing place of games in household leisure”. It is known, the French are good players…