Française Des Jeux (lottery)
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La Française des Jeux (; FDJ) is the operator of France's and the Republic of Ireland's national lottery games, and the title sponsor of the FDJ cycling team. The name of the company loosely translates as The French Company of Games. The company was previously owned and operated by the French government. In July 2018, the French government, which owned 72% of FDJ, took the company public and sold off 50% of its ownership to bolster public finances. In addition to lottery games, the company also provides online games and
sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...
markets, such as
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
,
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
, and
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
. The company sponsors two professional cycling teams:
Groupama–FDJ Groupama–FDJ () is a French cycling team at UCI WorldTeam level. The team is managed by Marc Madiot, a former road bicycle racer and winner of the Paris–Roubaix classic in 1985 and 1991. The team is predominantly French. History The tea ...
in the
UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...
since 1997, and FDJ Suez Futuroscope in the
UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. , the tour includes 27 events in Europe, Asia and Oceania – with one-day races such as Strade Bianche Donne and Paris–Roubaix Femmes, stage races such as Wo ...
since 2017.


History

The French National Lottery, established in 1933, is the precursor to the current organization. Initially known as the "Société de la Loterie nationale et du Loto national" (SLNLN) in 1979, it was later renamed "France Loto" in 1989. This name change coincided with a significant restructuring of the company. The government's ownership stake increased from 51% to 72%, while ticket issuers' stake decreased from 49% to 20%. Employees and brokers were allowed to acquire stakes of 5% and 3% respectively. The capital was increased from 20 million to 500 million francs (equivalent to
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
3 million to 76 million), enabling significant investments. In 1991, the organization underwent another name change and became "la Française des jeux". The success of the Loto in 1976, facilitated by advancements in computer technology and televised drawings, greatly contributed to the company's revival. Traditionally, most
lotteries A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
around
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operated within their respective territories. However, European integration and the rise of the internet disrupted this monopoly situation in
European Union countries The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their o ...
. To address this, the Française des Jeux initiated cooperation with other European state lotteries, leading to the launch of a joint drawing game called Euro Millions in collaboration with the British and Spanish lotteries. In 2004, six more countries joined the collaboration: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland. The missions entrusted to the Française des Jeux impose management responsibilities. In 2005, the Française des Jeux contributed €2.33 billion to public finances and provided risk coverage through deductions from bets, benefiting the state, sports, and social finances. In 2011, its subsidiary LB POKER, jointly owned with the Barrière Group, reported a loss of €30 million. Beginning in 2006, FDJ implemented a program called "Responsible Gaming" as part of its
Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...
(CSR) policy. On 28 October 2009, the Française des Jeux announced its decision to use a shorter commercial brand name, "FDJ," in order to simplify and strengthen its image, ahead of the opening of the French online gambling market to competition. Alongside the name change, a new logo featuring a modernized four-leaf clover was unveiled. In June 2011, Tracfin, the anti-money laundering unit of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, reported that it had received 300 reports from the Française des Jeux for the year 2010. In July 2015, the FDJ Board of Directors unanimously approved the strategic project for 2015–2020. The FDJ planned to invest over €400 million in technology and its physical network to accommodate the new digital usage patterns of its 27 million customers. By 2017, digital bets accounted for 11% of the total bets, a three and a half times increase compared to 2014. Over three years, bets increased by 17%, reaching €15.1 billion in 2017. In December 2017, the French government initiated the privatization process of the Française des Jeux under the supervision of the banking group BNP Paribas. An initial public offering (
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
) was considered to take the company public, with the government retaining a "blocking minority" to ensure a minimum level of state ownership in the management. The sale of shares began in November 2019, with the state retaining a stake of approximately 20% after previously holding 72% of the capital. In late March 2020, during the
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pandemic lockdown in France, the Française des Jeux announced significant financial losses for the upcoming year. The company anticipated a monthly loss of €55 million due to a 50% decrease in bets caused by a sharp decline in attendance. In 2022, as lockdown measures were lifted, the Française des Jeux experienced an 8.7% increase in bets, totaling €20.6 billion. The revenue also increased by 9.1% to €2.46 billion. On 3 November 2023 La Française des Jeux purchased Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC, the operator of the Irish National Lottery, from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, An Post and An Post Pension Plan. On 22 January 2024, the Française des Jeux proposed to acquire online betting firm Kindred for 27.95 billion Swedish kronor, aiming to become Europe's second-largest gaming operator and significantly expand its digital and international presence. On 3 October 2024 the tender offer is accepted by more than 90% Kindred shareholders, thus starting a "squeeze out" process in Nasdaq Stockholm to delist Kindred.


Retail Network

In 2017, out of the €15.1 billion generated, nearly 95% was redistributed, with 6% allocated to the retail network (€0.9 billion). This distribution includes payouts to players (66.8%, equivalent to €10.1 billion in 2017), the retail network (6%, equivalent to €0.9 billion in 2017), and the community (21.8%, equivalent to €3.3 billion). The retail network comprises 30,800 points of sale, including tobacco shops, bars, and newsagents in mainland France, as well as village grocery stores and service stations in overseas territories. In November 2019, FDJ announced the acquisition of Bimedia, a software publisher specializing in payment and point-of-sale solutions, with the aim of supporting the development and modernization of its retail network.


References


External links


Official Française des Jeux−FDJ websitePronostic website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francaise des Jeux (lottery) Lotteries Gambling in France Gambling companies of France Government-owned companies of France Entertainment companies established in 1976 French companies established in 1976 2019 initial public offerings Companies listed on Euronext Paris Companies based in Île-de-France