During FDJ United's FY25 earnings call last week, CEO Stéphane Pallez announced a strategic shift in the operator's online betting and gaming segment from mergers and acquisitions to a focus on technology transformation. This plan entails prioritizing internal platform migration and consolidating the technology stack. Pallez shared these insights on Thursday following the release of the company's full-year results for 2025, which indicated year-on-year revenue declines across multiple sectors, including online betting and gaming. She emphasized the ongoing transformation of the business unit, which was previously operated by Kindred, after FDJ concluded its €2.45 billion acquisition of the company in October 2024, with integration now complete.
Pallez noted that efforts to capitalize on Kindred’s operations within the broader FDJ entity will persist over the next few years. This initiative will largely be propelled by technology migration and commitments to structural separation made to antitrust regulators. The group has finished separating its exclusive rights lottery operations from its competitive online betting activities in France, which involved dividing player accounts and merging Parions Sport en Ligne and ZEturf. The primary remaining task is to migrate the French operations to the Kindred player account management (PAM) platform used in other regions.
In addition to France, FDJ has been progressively deploying its internal sportsbook platform in other markets, including the UK, Romania, and Estonia. The poker and casino operations are increasingly reliant on proprietary technology, with casino revenue representing over half of the online betting and gaming revenue in 2025, now fully internalized from a tech stack angle.
Although the integration of Kindred is complete, Pallez stated that migrating France to Kindred’s PAM system is the most technically complex step, crucial for aligning with the group's competitive landscape. "The only element that remains to be done is to move France on the Kindred PAM," she said. "It’s not urgent to do it. We will do it in the coming years. No problem."
Currently, internalization has largely been accomplished across primary gaming categories. The casino sector is fully supported by proprietary technology, while poker will shift in France to Relax Gaming’s in-house stack, with Unibet branding set to consolidate in Q2. In terms of sports betting, FDJ has internalized a significant portion, with sportsbook operations in France already utilizing an in-house platform. Internationally, the proprietary KSP solution has been implemented in Romania, the UK, and Estonia. Pallez revealed that nearly 60% of sportsbook revenue in France is fully internalized, with remaining jurisdictions yet to migrate also including the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Australia, which she described as having “very, very small” activity.
Addressing increasing tax and regulatory pressures in core markets, Pallez critiqued recent reforms in the Netherlands, describing these regulatory measures as “ill considered.” She pointed out that the market for operators in the Netherlands has contracted by approximately 25%, boosting offshore online betting and gaming operators and resulting in a loss of tax revenue for the country. In the UK, Pallez noted that forthcoming tax adjustments are anticipated to affect online gaming starting in 2026, with further impacts expected on sports betting in 2027. The remote gaming duty in the UK is set to rise from 21% to 40% in April 2026, while the remote sports betting duty will increase from 15% to 25% in 2027.
Historically, FDJ has utilized acquisitions, such as the Kindred deal, to enhance its competitive stance. However, Pallez indicated that further acquisitions are not currently prioritized for the online betting and gaming division and emphasized that any potential future mergers or acquisitions would need to align with the ongoing platform migration efforts. "It’s not our priority and it’s not a significant priority," Pallez explained. "We would prefer this year to continue to concentrate on the tech stack migration, even if it’s already well advanced."
She acknowledged that the group remains open to pragmatic opportunities to support its medium-term goals but dismissed any major activities relating to the upcoming football World Cup cycle. Any future deals are more likely to focus on the lottery segment, particularly in international markets. "M&A or tenders or investment is more a question related to lottery, international lottery business," Pallez mentioned. "We are already active in looking at opportunities also in a realistic way."
In the US, she noted potential opportunities in online lottery development, an area that is still developing compared to the more established French and European markets. "We are already active in looking at opportunities, also in a realistic way. And at this point, with small initiatives in terms of investment," Pallez stated.
