La Française des jeux

Corporate brand

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France's national lottery and gaming operator, with lottery, sports-betting and online gaming activities.

Last updated October 14, 2026

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Overview

La Française des jeux (FDJ) is France's principal lottery and gaming operator. Its modern corporate history begins in 1976 with the launch of Loto, although the business traces its institutional origins to the French national lottery created in 1933. The company operates draw-based lottery games, instant-win scratch cards, sports betting and digital gaming services, using a nationwide retail network alongside websites and mobile applications. The brand's best-known offerings include Loto, EuroMillions and a broad portfolio of scratch games. It also markets sports betting under the Parions Sport name. Lottery products are distributed through authorized retailers such as tobacconists and other local outlets, while digital channels allow customers to purchase lottery products and place permitted bets online. FDJ's business is shaped by France's regulated gambling framework and by a public-interest role: lottery and gaming activity generates tax and other contributions that support public finances, sport and selected social or heritage-related purposes. FDJ has historically combined mass-market entertainment with a strong national identity. Its marketing has used television, retail displays, digital media, sports partnerships and event-linked products to recruit adult customers and modernize the image of traditional games. The company has also promoted responsible gambling, including messages against underage gambling, spending controls, self-exclusion and other player-protection measures. This commercial activity is balanced by regulatory expectations that advertising for its lottery monopoly should remain measured and primarily inform potential customers rather than actively encourage excessive play. A major turning point came with the French government's privatization of FDJ. The company listed on Euronext Paris on 21 November 2019, attracting substantial interest from retail and institutional investors. After the listing, FDJ pursued digital expansion and consolidation in betting and gaming, including the acquisitions of AUBET and ZEturf reported in 2022 and Premier Lotteries Ireland in 2023. In 2024 it completed a public offer for Kindred Group, the Swedish gaming company associated with the Unibet brand. The transaction materially broadened FDJ's European online betting and gaming footprint and supported the group's evolution toward a wider European gaming organization. FDJ remains closely associated with the French lottery while operating as a listed company with international ambitions. Its strategic challenges include gambling regulation, taxation, responsible-gaming obligations, the shift from retail to digital channels and the need to integrate acquired businesses without weakening controls over player protection.

History

The institutional predecessor of FDJ was the Loterie Nationale, created by the French state in 1933 to organize a national lottery. The modern company emerged in 1976 with the introduction of Loto, a recurring draw game that established the basis of a nationwide lottery business. The organization was subsequently reorganized under names associated with the national lottery and Loto operations before adopting the name La Française des jeux in 1991. Scratch-card products broadened the offer beyond scheduled draws and helped make instant-win gaming a regular part of the retail proposition. During the 1990s and 2000s, FDJ developed a large network of authorized retail outlets and expanded its game portfolio. The launch of EuroMillions in 2004, in cooperation with other European lottery operators, gave the company access to a cross-border jackpot proposition. FDJ also built a major sports-marketing platform. Its cycling team has been associated with the Tour de France since 1997, and the company later used sports sponsorship to support brand awareness, women's participation in sport and national sporting events. The liberalization of parts of France's online gambling market in 2010 enabled FDJ to add online sports betting and other digital services. Websites, mobile applications and multichannel campaigns became increasingly important both for customer acquisition and for moving traditional lottery brands toward younger adult audiences. The company experimented with customer co-creation, thematic scratch cards and campaigns designed to connect retail games with digital participation. Privatization was the defining corporate event of the late 2010s. The French state sold a majority stake through an initial public offering on Euronext Paris in November 2019. The listing broadened the shareholder base and gave FDJ a public-market platform for investment and acquisitions, while the company retained its regulated lottery role. Its post-listing strategy emphasized digital distribution, betting and gaming capabilities, and disciplined expansion beyond France. FDJ reported acquisitions of AUBET and ZEturf in 2022, strengthening digital sports betting and horse-racing capabilities, and acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland in 2023, giving the group an operating position in Ireland's national lottery. In 2024, FDJ completed its offer for Kindred Group. Kindred brought the Unibet brand and a substantial European online betting and gaming business, transforming FDJ from a predominantly French lottery operator into a broader European gaming group. The enlarged organization has continued to present responsible gambling, equality, inclusion, sports and social contribution as central elements of its corporate identity. FDJ's continuing history is defined by a tension between commercial growth and public regulation. It must attract adult customers, innovate across retail and digital channels and compete internationally, while regulators require restrained promotion, strong controls against underage and excessive gambling, and clear separation between gambling entertainment and public-interest messaging.

2024
Kindred transaction completed
[2]FDJ Celebrates the Five Years of its Initial Public Offeringfdjunited.com
FDJ completed its offer for Kindred Group and expanded into a larger European online betting and gaming platform.
2023
Premier Lotteries Ireland acquired
[7]Loterie Nationale createdpestel-analysis.com
FDJ acquired the operator of the Irish National Lottery, broadening its international lottery operations.
2022
Digital betting acquisitions
[8]EuroMillions introducedmatrixbcg.com
FDJ acquired AUBET and ZEturf to reinforce digital sports betting and horse-racing activities.
2019
Euronext Paris listing
[1]La Française des jeux lists on Euronexteuronext.com
FDJ completed its privatization and began trading on Euronext Paris on 21 November.
2010
Online betting expansion
[8]EuroMillions introducedmatrixbcg.com
Following French market liberalization, FDJ expanded into online sports betting.
2004
EuroMillions introduced
[8]EuroMillions introducedmatrixbcg.com
FDJ joined other European lottery operators in launching EuroMillions, a multinational jackpot game.
1991
FDJ name adopted
[7]Loterie Nationale createdpestel-analysis.com
The national lottery and Loto organization adopted the La Française des jeux name.
1976
Loto launched
[7]Loterie Nationale createdpestel-analysis.com
The launch of Loto established the modern nationwide draw-game business associated with FDJ.
1933
Loterie Nationale created
[7]Loterie Nationale createdpestel-analysis.com
The French state established the Loterie Nationale, the institutional predecessor of today's FDJ.

Products and positioning

A regulated, mass-market gaming operator combining France's national lottery role with digital betting, player protection and broader European expansion.

Draw lottery · 1976
Loto
FDJ's flagship French draw lottery, launched in 1976. Players select numbers for scheduled draws, with prizes determined by the numbers drawn and the applicable prize structure. Loto is one of the central products through which the company maintains its national retail and digital presence.
Multinational draw lottery · 2004
EuroMillions
A cross-border European jackpot lottery operated through cooperation among national lottery companies. FDJ distributes EuroMillions in France through its retail and online channels, giving French players access to a multinational prize pool.
Instant-win lottery · 1989
Scratch-card games
A broad family of physical and digital instant-win games. Scratch products allow customers to discover outcomes immediately and are frequently refreshed with thematic, seasonal or event-linked designs. They are a major part of FDJ's retail offer.
Sports betting · 2009
Parions Sport
FDJ's sports-betting proposition, offered through authorized retail outlets and digital channels. It covers betting on sporting events within the limits of French regulation and supports the group's diversification beyond lottery draws.
Online betting and gaming
Unibet
The online betting and gaming brand brought into FDJ's broader group through the acquisition of Kindred. Its integration expanded FDJ's international digital footprint and product capabilities.

Marketing campaigns

2021Responsible gaming communications
France
FDJ accompanied lottery and sports-betting advertising with prominent messages addressing responsible play and the prohibition of underage gambling.
Outcome. The campaign reinforced player-protection messaging during a period that included UEFA Euro 2020 activity.
Source
2017Champs pour Elles and Sports pour Elles
France
FDJ used the cycling event Champs pour Elles and the wider Sports pour Elles program to promote women's participation in sport and reinforce its sports-sponsorship positioning. The program was associated with FDJ's Tour de France partnership and female athlete ambassadors.
Outcome. The campaign linked brand communication with gender equality and sports participation while strengthening FDJ's visibility in French sport.
Source
2017#JouerLeJeu and Paris 2024 support
France
FDJ used the #JouerLeJeu campaign across social and digital channels alongside a Paris 2024-themed scratch game and its support for France's Olympic and Paralympic bid.
Outcome. The campaign connected FDJ's gaming products with a major national sporting event and its sponsorship strategy.
Source
2012Multichannel website promotion and customer co-creation
France
FDJ promoted its website through television advertising while emphasizing that the platform offered more than practical information. Around the same period, it tested customer co-creation by inviting internet users to select animal images for scratch-game tickets, with the activity repeated in 2013.
Outcome. The initiative supported FDJ's effort to recruit new adult customers and connect retail products with digital participation.
Source

Brand decisions

2024
Acquisition of Kindred GroupM&A
Background
FDJ aimed to become a broader European gaming group by adding a scaled online betting and gaming operator.
Action taken
FDJ completed a public offer for Kindred and acquired 90.66% of its capital according to contemporaneous reporting.
Aftermath
The transaction brought the Unibet business into the group and significantly expanded FDJ's European digital footprint.
Reported transaction valuation. More than €2.5 billion (2024)
Source
2023
Acquisition of Premier Lotteries IrelandM&A
Background
FDJ pursued international expansion beyond its French lottery base.
Action taken
The group acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland, operator of the Irish National Lottery.
Aftermath
FDJ added a national-lottery operation in Ireland to its international portfolio.
Source
2022
Acquisition of AUBET and ZEturfM&A
Background
FDJ sought to strengthen its digital betting and horse-racing capabilities.
Action taken
The group acquired AUBET and ZEturf.
Aftermath
The transactions broadened FDJ's digital sports-betting and horse-racing offer.
Source
2019
Privatization and initial public offeringM&A
Background
The French government decided to privatize FDJ and sell a majority stake through a public offering.
Action taken
FDJ listed on Euronext Paris on 21 November 2019.
Aftermath
The listing created a widely held public company and provided a platform for subsequent investment and acquisitions.
IPO offering amount. Approximately €1.6 billion (2019)
Source

Recent events

2021-07-08
FDJ begins partnership with Plug and Play[12]FDJ与Plug and Play开始合作prnewswire.com
Reported: 2021-07-08
FDJ announced the beginning of a partnership with Plug and Play. As part of the arrangement, FDJ is participating in the selection of the platform's eleventh startup batch alongside other corporate partners.

Sources12 sources

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