FDJ UNITED did not begin in 2025, and it was not created from scratch when the French lottery group bought Kindred. Its present identity is the result of a much longer development: a national lottery tradition, a separately incorporated French business, a stock-market listing, acquisitions in 2023 and 2024, and subsequent efforts to combine formerly distinct operations.
The chronology separates the lottery's origins from the incorporation of today's company, and the announcement of a takeover from its settlement. Consolidation, the purchase of remaining shares and later brand migrations are separate stages of that process.
Each stage changed the business, taking a French lottery operator towards a listed European group with online betting, technology and Irish lottery operations. For the present corporate structure, see our FDJ UNITED overview.
FDJ UNITED History at a Glance
| Date | Type of event | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Historical lottery origin | The national lottery tradition from which the FDJ business developed |
| 19 December 1978 | Company establishment | Establishment milestone for the modern French corporate entity, distinct from lottery heritage |
| 19 February 1979 | Registration | Formal registration milestone for the legal company |
| 21 November 2019 | Stock-market listing | La Française des Jeux began trading on Euronext Paris in the privatisation process |
| 29 September 2023 | Acquisition completion | ZEturf extended the French betting and horse-racing portfolio |
| 3 November 2023 | Acquisition completion | Premier Lotteries Ireland brought Irish National Lottery operations into the group |
| January 2024 | Acquisition announcement | FDJ proposed to acquire Kindred |
| 3 October 2024 | Tender-offer success | FDJ announced the offer had reached its success threshold |
| 11 October 2024 | Settlement and consolidation | Kindred entered the consolidated reporting perimeter |
| Early 2025 | Remaining-share process | Completion steps continued after the principal settlement |
| 6 March 2025 | Corporate rebrand | FDJ UNITED became the group's new corporate identity |
| By end of Q1 2026 | French brand integration | French online betting/poker operations moved to the Unibet identity |
| 21 October 2026 | Strategic review announcement | The group outlined a review of certain online markets and non-core payment assets; no resulting sale was completed by that announcement |
These legal, commercial and accounting events are not equivalent founding or completion dates.
- 1933French National Lottery Origins
- 1978 - 1979The Modern Legal Company
- 2019Euronext Paris Listing
- 2023ZEturf and Premier Lotteries Ireland
- 2024Kindred Takeover
- 2025FDJ UNITED Corporate Brand
- 2026Unibet France Integration
The vertical sequence distinguishes corporate rebranding in 2025 from the later French consumer-brand integration in 2026.
Where FDJ Began: The Lottery and the Company
The national lottery tradition dates to 1933, long before the present listed corporate structure. That heritage helps explain why FDJ became strongly associated with French draw games, instant-win products and retail distribution. It does not mean that La Française des Jeux SA, the legal parent of FDJ UNITED, was incorporated in 1933.
The reviewed company records identify 19 December 1978 as an establishment milestone and 19 February 1979 as the registration date associated with the modern company. The listed legal entity remains La Française des Jeux SA, registered under SIREN 315 065 292. FDJ UNITED, introduced much later, is the corporate identity used by the group rather than evidence of a new parent replacing it.
For much of its development, the business was closely associated with French lottery and retail activity. The value of this foundation was rooted not only in recognisable products but also in its regulated rights and distribution network. Those features later became one side of a group whose international online operations would face a different competitive environment.
From State Lottery to Listed Company
FDJ's listing on 21 November 2019 was another structural turning point. La Française des Jeux shares became publicly traded on Euronext Paris in a process commonly described as the French state's privatisation of FDJ.
Privatisation did not mean that the state disappeared from the shareholder base or from the governance framework. The French state retained a substantial minority stake and certain special oversight rights. The 2025 accounts report a 21.1% capital holding at 31 December 2025, which is a dated position rather than a current live ownership percentage. Capital and voting rights are also not necessarily identical.
Listing increased external scrutiny of performance, acquisitions, financing and dividends as the group expanded beyond France.
In our view, the 2019 event is best understood as a transition in funding and accountability, not the creation of a new gambling business. The older lottery franchise remained important while management gained a listed platform from which to pursue expansion.
The detailed structure of state rights and shareholder control is covered in FDJ UNITED people and ownership.
2023: ZEturf and Premier Lotteries Ireland
Two 2023 acquisitions widened the group's business in different directions: ZEturf added a specialist betting operation, while Premier Lotteries Ireland extended its lottery business abroad.
| Transaction | Completion | Business added | Strategic significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZEturf | 29 September 2023 | French horse-racing and betting activities | Added expertise and a distinct competitive product category |
| Premier Lotteries Ireland | 3 November 2023 | Operator of the Irish National Lottery | Extended the group's lottery operations beyond France under a separate national concession |
ZEturf was a move into a specialist betting business. Horse-racing products, customer behaviour and competition are different from the economics of established French lottery draw games. The acquisition broadened the betting portfolio without making that activity part of the French lottery monopoly.
Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) provided another path to international growth. Its business operates the Irish National Lottery under an Irish concession. This is not Britain's National Lottery, operated by Allwyn, and the Irish concession is not a transferable right to operate lottery products in every European market.
Together, the acquisitions widened the group's French betting portfolio and extended its lottery operations beyond France.
The Kindred Takeover: Announcement, Settlement and Remaining Shares
The defining acquisition was Kindred, whose brands included Unibet and 32Red alongside other regional gaming businesses and technology assets.
The acquired business has its own entrepreneurial history. Anders Ström founded Unibet in 1997, the business that later became Kindred Group. He founded the acquired online business, rather than FDJ or its French national lottery predecessor.
FDJ announced its recommended offer in January 2024. At that stage the transaction remained subject to acceptance and the relevant conditions.
On 3 October 2024, FDJ announced that the tender offer had succeeded. Settlement and the start of consolidation followed on 11 October 2024. The extended offer and subsequent purchase of remaining shares continued into early 2025.
| Stage | What it means | Why readers should distinguish it |
|---|---|---|
| January 2024: offer announced | FDJ publicly proposed acquiring Kindred on stated terms | An offer is not proof that control has transferred |
| 3 October 2024: offer succeeds | Acceptance and conditions reached the announced success stage | Success is not necessarily the accounting consolidation date |
| 11 October 2024: settlement | Principal share acquisition was settled | This is the key date for Kindred entering FDJ's consolidated reporting |
| Extended offer and early-2025 remainder | Residual holdings were addressed after the principal settlement | Later purchases do not change the date of the original announcement |
The distinction helps explain reported performance. Kindred was consolidated for only part of 2024, but for the whole of 2025. A rise in published group revenue between those years cannot automatically be described as equivalent organic growth. Comparable or pro-forma measures are necessary to evaluate the trading performance of the underlying businesses.
The transaction's headline valuations also need definitions. The transaction disclosures describe approximately €2.5bn as the offer value to shareholders and around €2.6bn as enterprise value in different disclosures. These are not two contradictory amounts for the same thing: equity value concerns the shares, while enterprise value reflects a broader valuation basis involving financing adjustments. Neither should be casually presented as the final amount of cash paid across every acquisition-related cost.
Kindred changed the group on several levels. It brought Unibet and 32Red into a broader European portfolio, expanded online competition exposure and introduced technology and content assets such as Relax Gaming. It also created integration work, additional financing considerations and a more demanding national regulatory landscape.
Subsequent disposals also changed the acquired portfolio. Trannel International and Sporting Group, for example, were disposed of around late 2024 and belong to its history rather than the current group structure.
Our FDJ UNITED brands and subsidiaries analysis deals with the current portfolio, while the financial results page addresses the effect of consolidation and financing on reported numbers.
What the Competition Regulator Required
The Kindred acquisition was not simply a decision by two corporate boards. French competition oversight mattered because FDJ's established lottery and retail rights exist alongside activities in markets where private operators compete.
The Autorité de la concurrence examined the transaction and attached conditions intended to address the separation between FDJ's monopoly activities and competitive operations. The distinction was commercially meaningful. A business that benefits from a protected position in one market cannot assume that the same status applies to every newly acquired betting or casino brand.
The clearance was conditional, and its requirements applied to the scope specified by the authority. Merger clearance also remained separate from the national gambling permissions held by individual Kindred companies. The legal operator and licensing questions are separate from merger clearance and are examined in FDJ UNITED markets, operators and licences.
These conditions form part of the acquisition's economic story. They affect how far different parts of the group may be combined and how management should assess projected synergies. An enlarged portfolio is not automatically a single unrestricted commercial platform.
Why the Group Became FDJ UNITED in 2025
On 6 March 2025, the group introduced the FDJ UNITED corporate brand. The name reflected a much broader set of activities following international expansion, particularly the Kindred acquisition.
The legal parent remained La Française des Jeux SA.
There was a clear commercial logic to the new identity. “FDJ” was familiar through French lottery products; FDJ UNITED could represent a group combining that legacy with internationally recognised online brands and business-to-business technology. It was an identity change for a diversified group, not proof that every consumer brand was being renamed.
Unibet and 32Red continued as consumer brands under the new group identity.
Unibet in France: Operational Integration Followed Later
The next important distinction concerns the French online offering. The group's later disclosures confirm the transition to the Unibet identity for French online sports betting and poker by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
This was an operational and consumer-brand milestone, separate from the March 2025 corporate rebrand. It should not be interpreted as a worldwide replacement of all Kindred brands, a merger of every customer account or the end of FDJ's retail sports betting identity.
ParionsSport point de vente remained a distinct retail-facing concept, and ZEturf retained its specialist horse-racing scope. The group was seeking to align parts of its French digital activity, not erase all differences between product categories, national licences and customer systems.
Brand migration, platform development and compliance work can continue long after legal settlement.
The commercial mechanics and technology programme belong in our FDJ UNITED business model and technology analysis.
What Remains in Motion After the Acquisitions
FDJ UNITED's international expansion did not remove market pressures. Its 21 October 2026 trading update reported weaker performance in the UK and Netherlands and pointed to a review of certain Online Betting & Gaming markets and non-core Payment & Services assets. Management expected to announce conclusions by early 2027.
This is an important current chapter, but not yet another completed disposal. The announcement does not establish that Unibet UK, 32Red, Nirio or Relax Gaming has been sold. Any such statement would require a later, specific transaction disclosure.
The review also demonstrates a broader historical pattern. FDJ's move from a protected French lottery base to a multinational gambling group created options for diversification, but it brought greater exposure to competition, national taxes and integration costs. The value of the expansion depends on how effectively management allocates resources after the acquisitions, not solely on the size of the portfolio assembled.
For the mechanisms behind those pressures and potential opportunities, see our FDJ UNITED risks and opportunities assessment.
Our Assessment
FDJ UNITED's history is best told as a sequence of different kinds of transformation. The lottery's roots explain its domestic position. The modern legal company and 2019 listing explain its corporate and shareholder framework. ZEturf and Premier Lotteries Ireland added different forms of diversification. Kindred changed the scale and nature of the international business. FDJ UNITED's 2025 identity and Unibet's French integration in 2026 followed as separate stages.
In our view, the enduring question is whether these businesses can be managed effectively together while their economic and regulatory characteristics remain distinct. The history does not give a guaranteed answer, but it makes clear why today's FDJ UNITED cannot be understood as merely the old French lottery with a new name.