FDJ United cuts 2026 outlook again as EuroMillions jackpots dry up
The French gambling group trimmed its full-year guidance for the second time since July after a weak third quarter hit by smaller lottery jackpots, higher gaming taxes and falling footfall in France.
FDJ United has reduced its 2026 financial targets for the second time in three months, after nine-month revenue fell 5.6% to €2.58 billion and gross gaming revenue (GGR) slipped 2.8% to €6.26 billion.
The quarterly figures were weaker still. Third-quarter revenue dropped 8.1% to €794 million, while GGR fell 6.1% to €1.95 billion, according to iGaming Business.
The group pointed to a run of smaller EuroMillions jackpots this year, a run of unusually large payouts to sports bettors in the third quarter, particularly at retail outlets, and softer footfall at French points of sale amid a weak domestic economy.
Higher gaming taxes added to the squeeze, stripping out €62 million from revenue and accounting for more than two percentage points of the overall decline.
Chairwoman and chief executive Stéphane Pallez said the results stem from conditions common across the gambling sector, including reduced retail traffic in a difficult economy and the previously flagged tax rise. She said the group remains committed to the business despite the tougher backdrop and is pressing ahead with plans aimed at a quicker return to sustainable growth, which she said depend on innovation and making its games more appealing, including relaunches of Loto and EuroMillions and a turnaround of its online operations in the UK and the Netherlands.
FDJ United now expects a low single-digit fall in GGR for 2026 and a mid single-digit decline in revenue, with more than €70 million of added gaming taxes baked into that revenue forecast. That marks a downgrade from July, when the company had guided for flat GGR and only a modest revenue decline. It still expects cost discipline to hold its recurring EBITDA margin near 23%, and has reiterated plans to lift its dividend annually while paying out at least 75% of adjusted net profit.
Within the French lottery and retail sports betting arm, GGR fell 3.5% to €4.98 billion and revenue dropped 4.8% to €1.79 billion once €28 million of extra tax is accounted for. Draw-game revenue fell hardest, down 12.2% to €563 million, as big EuroMillions jackpots became scarce: only 12 draws topped €130 million by the end of September, against 27 a year earlier, and just one exceeded €200 million compared with 12 in 2025. Because player stakes move closely with jackpot size, the shortfall weighed heavily on activity, a pattern the company said was mirrored across the ten European lotteries that take part in EuroMillions.
Instant games bucked the trend, with GGR up 1.9% and revenue edging up 0.3% to €935 million, while retail sports betting revenue fell 4.5% to €297 million as the proportion of stakes returned to bettors climbed more than 400 basis points to nearly 80%.
FDJ United's online betting and gaming division held up better on GGR, down just 0.8% to €1.01 billion, though revenue fell 8.2% to €619 million after €34 million of additional tax. Strip out the UK and the Netherlands, and GGR actually rose 5.7% with revenue up 0.8%, driven by continued strength in France and Scandinavia. GGR fell 8.6% in the Netherlands and 24.4% in the UK, markets the company said its new management team and ongoing action plans should gradually repair.
The group is also accelerating work on a single proprietary sports betting platform intended to run across most of its markets by the end of 2027, reorganising its European development teams as part of that effort.
FDJ United is separately reviewing which markets its online division should remain in, alongside a review of non-core assets within its Payment and Services unit, with conclusions due by early 2027 at the latest. Further draw-game events are planned for the fourth quarter, with the Loto and EuroMillions relaunches and a new €10 instant game set for 2027. Full-year results are scheduled for 18 February 2027.