French operator group FDJ said in a preliminary trading update that 2023 revenues rose 6.5 per cent year-on-year, steered by strong online gaming growth.
FDJ said revenue from the group’s online gaming business increased by 18.8 per cent and 13.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis, contributing to a rise in revenue over the year to €2.6bn.
FDJ added that online gaming business revenue accounte for nearly 13 per cent of revenue in 2023 versus 11 per cent in 2022.
For Q4, revenue increased by 13.8 per cent to €747m, up 7.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
Lottery revenue rose 7.8 per cent to €531m, with business benefitting “in particular” from the Euromillions super jackpot starting at €200m at the beginning of December, and the launch of EuroDreams at the beginning of December.
“These factors are contributing to the strong momentum of online lottery,” FDJ said.
“Competitive sports betting and online gaming open to competition continued to perform well,” FDJ added, with revenue up 14.9 per cent to €159m 6.3 % higher on a like-for-like basis – excluding the first consolidation of ZEturf’s activities.
“This performance was driven by a still buoyant market, combined with very favourable results for the operator,” the operator said.
“The good end to the year and the digital business accounted for a significant proportion of the growth in recurring EBITDA in 2023,” FDJ concluded, with the recurring EBITDA at €657m, leading to a margin of 25.1 per cent.
“This level takes into account the exceptional level of sporting results in the operator’s favour at the end of the year and a reversal of a provision relating to disputes with former broker-agents. Excluding these, it would have been 24.3 per cent.”
