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There is a growing mismatch in Europe’s gambling industry right now. Player activity is holding up, but profits are not keeping pace. The latest results from FDJ United offer a clear example of how that gap is widening.
On paper, the first quarter of 2026 looks stable. Gross gaming revenue reached €2.1 billion, up slightly compared to last year. But once taxes are factored in, the picture changes. Revenue actually fell by 3 percent to €895 million. A €24 million tax impact in just three months played a big role in that drop, and the company expects a much larger hit over the rest of the year.
This is not a case of declining demand. It is a case of growth being absorbed before it reaches the bottom line.
Online betting starts to slip
The pressure is not evenly spread across the business. Some areas are proving more resilient than others.
International lottery was the only segment that managed to grow, bringing in €41 million, up from €38 million a year earlier. Everything else moved in the opposite direction.
Online betting and gaming saw the sharpest fall, down nearly 8 percent to €213 million. That is a worrying sign given how important digital channels have become for long term growth. The French lottery and retail betting segment also slipped, though more modestly, while payments and services continued to decline.
When the most scalable part of the business starts shrinking, it tends to signal deeper structural pressure rather than a temporary slowdown.
France remains the toughest market
Much of this pressure can be traced back to France, where taxation on gambling is among the highest in Europe. Changes introduced in 2025 pushed those levels even higher.
Online sports betting now faces public levies of over 59 percent of gross gaming revenue. Retail betting is above 42 percent. Lottery products sit even higher, with some nearing 70 percent. Online poker saw one of the most dramatic changes, jumping from almost negligible taxation to 10 percent.
At those levels, there is little room left for operators to absorb costs or reinvest aggressively. Even small increases in activity do not translate into meaningful revenue gains.
The problem is not just France
What is happening in France is part of a wider trend.
In the Netherlands, a staged tax increase reached 37.8 percent at the start of the year. The effect was immediate. FDJ United reported a double digit drop in both GGR and revenue in that market.
The UK could become an even bigger concern. A major tax increase came into effect in April, doubling the Remote Gaming Duty to 40 percent. Even before that change, the company’s UK revenue had already fallen by more than 24 percent in the first quarter. The next set of results will give a clearer picture of how much further that decline could go.
A shift in strategy
With taxes rising across multiple markets, FDJ United is adjusting its approach. The focus now is less about expansion and more about control.
The appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer, Dan Lévy, points in that direction. The company is putting more emphasis on efficiency, tighter cost management, and better use of existing resources.
The aim is to stabilise performance in the short term and return to growth later in the year, especially in online betting. Whether that is achievable under current tax conditions remains uncertain.
A broader question for the industry
What makes these results stand out is not just the numbers themselves, but what they represent.
Demand for gambling has not disappeared. Players are still active. Yet the financial return from that activity is being steadily reduced by higher taxes and stricter regulation.
If this trend continues, operators may find it harder to compete, invest, or even maintain current levels of service in regulated markets.
FDJ United’s first quarter does not suggest a company in crisis. It does, however, highlight a shift that is becoming harder to ignore. Growth is still there, but it is no longer reaching the places that matter most.
