FDJ United to Review Online Gaming Business Two Years After Kindred Acquisition

FDJ United will conduct a strategic review of its online gaming and betting business, a move that signals potential divestment and market exits, the French gaming giant announced alongside its H1 2026 results. The review comes roughly two years after the operator completed its acquisition of Kindred Group, the deal that created one of Europe’s largest gambling companies and brought brands like Unibet and 32Red under the FDJ banner.

The company is looking to stabilize gross gaming revenue (GGR) and offset the impact of gambling tax hikes that have hit several of its key markets. Stéphane Pallez, president and CEO of FDJ United, said the group’s first-half performance “continued to be impacted by increased taxes.”

Tax Increases Bite Into Revenue

FDJ United’s GGR for the first half of 2026 totaled €4.31 billion, down 1.3% year-over-year. Revenue fell more sharply, dropping 4.5% to €1.78 billion, a decline the company directly attributes to roughly €52 million in calendar-driven gaming tax increases across France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Romania. Public levies on games climbed 120 basis points to 60.6% of GGR during the period.

The online betting and gaming (OBG) division — the business built primarily around the Kindred acquisition — saw GGR hold roughly stable while revenue slid 7.4% to €431 million, with about €24 million of that decline tied to the new tax burden. Strip out the UK and Netherlands, two markets where FDJ United has faced persistent headwinds, and the picture looks considerably healthier: GGR in the rest of the OBG footprint rose 6.6%, with revenue up 0.6%, driven by strength in France and Scandinavia.

Two Years After the Kindred Deal

FDJ United completed its roughly €2.5 billion acquisition of Kindred Group in October 2024, a deal that transformed the French lottery operator into a diversified, pan-European gaming and betting company with a presence in around 15 regulated markets. At the time, the tie-up was billed as creating a “European gaming champion” with a stronger international and digital profile, lifting the share of revenue from foreign markets and online activity considerably.

Two years on, though, the online betting and gaming unit is the segment now facing the most scrutiny. The UK in particular has remained a soft spot, with the company noting GGR there fell somewhere in the 20-25% range during the quarter, a level of weakness that appears to be feeding directly into the decision to review the business for potential divestments or market exits.

What Comes Next

Despite the topline pressure, FDJ United held recurring EBITDA at €404 million, a 22.7% margin, which management credited to tight cost discipline across the group. For the full year, the company still expects GGR to be roughly stable, even while absorbing an estimated €70 million in additional calendar tax increases across its lottery and online betting divisions.

The strategic review of the online gaming business is still in its early stages, and FDJ United has not named specific markets or assets under consideration. But the language used — “potential divestment and market exits” — suggests the company may be willing to shrink its post-Kindred footprint rather than keep fighting an uphill battle in markets where tax regimes have made online gambling meaningfully less profitable. For an industry watching how European regulators continue to squeeze operator margins, FDJ United’s review is another data point in a broader trend of consolidation pressure hitting even the continent’s biggest gaming groups.