FDJ United reported a net loss of €16m for the first half of 2026, down from a €136m profit in the same period last year, after writing down €138m of online betting and gaming assets tied to its UK and Netherlands operations.
Group gross gaming revenue (GGR) fell 1.3% to €4,314m and revenue fell 4.5% to €1,782m, from €1,867m in H1 2025. Higher gaming taxes across several markets and a weaker EuroMillions jackpot cycle account for most of the decline.
French lottery and retail carry the revenue drop
The French lottery and retail sports betting business unit generated GGR of €3,429m, down 2.0%, and revenue of €1,240m, down 3.9%.
Lottery alone accounted for the bulk of that. Lottery GGR fell 2.1% to €2,979m and revenue fell 4.0% to €1,022m. FDJ United attributes the shortfall to a significantly lower number of major EuroMillions jackpots and smaller jackpot amounts than in 2025, and in the second quarter to lower traffic at points of sale caused by exceptional heatwaves in France.
The tax change matters more than the jackpot cycle for the revenue line. The increase in French gaming taxes that took effect on 1 July 2025 cost the group more than €28m in the first half, a full-period drag that was only partially present in the 2025 comparison base.
Stripping out the jackpot distortion gives a different read on the underlying business. FDJ United said lottery GGR rose 1% excluding long EuroMillions cycles, and iLottery GGR grew 6%. Online lottery GGR was down 1.3% for the half.
Online betting and gaming flat, with a UK and Dutch drag
Online betting and gaming (OBG) GGR was stable at €702m while revenue fell 7.4% to €431m.
The divergence between the two lines is the tax story again, plus market mix. Excluding the Netherlands and the UK, OBG GGR rose 6.6% and revenue rose 0.6%, driven by France and Scandinavia. FDJ United described the Dutch environment as challenging and pointed to continued weakness in the UK, where the Gambling Commission reported online gross gambling yield up 7% to £1.55bn in its final market report.
Those two markets are also where the impairment landed. Non-recurring items came to negative €142m for the half, of which €138m was an impairment of OBG assets linked directly to trading conditions in the UK and the Netherlands. That charge, rather than trading, is what turned a profit into a loss.
Recurring profitability holds close to guidance
Recurring EBITDA was €404m, down 8.4%, at a margin of 22.7% against 23.6% a year earlier. That sits just below the group’s full-year target range of 23% to 24%, which FDJ United confirmed.
Adjusted net profit was €180m, down 19.0% from €222m, and included a €20m exceptional tax charge. Profit before tax was €53m against €226m in H1 2025.
Chief executive Stéphane Pallez tied the half’s performance to taxation and to factors outside the group’s control.
“The Group’s performance in the first half is still affected by higher taxation, alongside factors inherent to the lottery business and the impact of exceptional heatwaves which have weighed on traffic at points of sale in France.”
On the outlook, she said:
“While the first half of this year was affected by a more demanding environment, we remain focused on restoring profitable growth.”
Guidance revised on the top line
FDJ United now targets stable GGR in both the French lottery and retail sports betting unit and the OBG unit for the 2026 financial year, with a low single-digit decline in revenue. The recurring EBITDA margin target of 23% to 24% is unchanged.
Tax and jackpot pressure is not confined to France. European lottery group Allwyn International reported €4.1bn in net revenue for FY2025 as it moved to close its OPAP merger, a reminder that scale in lottery is being rebuilt through consolidation rather than organic GGR growth.
FDJ United has also drawn scrutiny elsewhere in its portfolio, including criticism over a Comoros licence obtained by supplier subsidiary Relax Gaming.
Holding the margin target through a year of falling revenue puts the weight on cost control and on the second-half jackpot cycle. The €138m write-down sets a lower carrying value for the UK and Dutch businesses, which reduces future depreciation but also fixes management’s own view of what those markets are now worth. Whether FDJ United restructures, reprices or holds position in either market is the question the second half will answer.
Source: FDJ United
