12 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 The Next Four Years Let’s talk about Play Forward 2028. Stéphane Pallez: We published our four-year plan, Play Forward 2028, in June of this year. This is the next step forward in the transformation we began years ago. During this period, we aim to pursue sustainable growth in our lottery business through our two distribution channels, complemented by an omnichannel approach. The main driver of growth for the French lottery is expected to be the recruitment of more than one million additional players, compared to 27 million players in 2024. This influx will be driven both by the expansion of the point-of-sale network and by the development of the digital channel, which is expected to account for 20% of our lottery business in 2028. And, as explained, we are convinced that an omnichannel strategy is essential to meet the needs of our customers, improve our responsible gaming tools, and create value. In our online betting and gaming activities, the acquisition of Kindred, completed at the end of 2024, is of course the cornerstone of our new strategic plan. We believe online gaming is a sector where scale is essential to compete with the global online betting operators. With Kindred, we now have that scale. The next stage is to realize the efficiencies, synergies, and marketing excellence that come with it and will sustain further growth. In 2025 and 2026, we will migrate all our online businesses onto common platforms: a unified sports betting platform (KSP: Kindred Sportsbook Platform), an online casino platform, and consolidated systems for customer experience, CRM, and PAM. By the end of 2026, this migration will be complete. The result will be fully local operations in each market, empowered by the advantages of common platforms. This infrastructure reduces costs, but it also strengthens marketing, product innovation, and overall efficiency. It gives us control of our IT platforms and our customer operations, while still allowing us to adapt to local differences. This is a profound transformation, one that requires time and sustained investment. We expect the foundations to be in place by 2026, with more benefits accruing through 2027 and 2028. And what will the customer-facing platform look like? Will there be a one-stop destination for all game categories? Stéphane Pallez: For the online betting and gaming business, the technology backbone will be common, but the customer-facing platforms will be adapted to each market, in line with regulations, culture, and user expectations. Customers will be able to access all games, from sports betting to online casinos, in markets where these activities are authorized, and increasingly they will enjoy a personalized experience. Digitization and AI are making it possible to tailor offerings to individual preferences, behaviors, and tastes. Equally important, the system gives players tools to manage their play responsibly and helps us manage financial risks, particularly in sports betting and casinos. Our goal is to empower players to manage their relationship with us in a way that is fun, safe, and suited to their personal preferences. The process of navigating across multiple channels and game categories will be seamless, easy, and intuitive, organically integrating the player’s journey with FDJ UNITED. Building out our IT platform ensures that CRM and PAM tools are optimized to full effect, allowing the player to co-create their own tailored experience. That is the future we are working towards. For our lottery business, customers will have a more and more digital experience but, of course, in a separate relationship from online betting and gaming since we are in a different legal framework. The Absorption of Kindred into FDJ United Kindred's online player base has been integrated with FDJ UNITED? Stéphane Pallez: Yes, it is for the online player base in locally regulated markets. As promised at the launch of our tender offer, after the completion of Kindred’s acquisition, we withdrew from all nonlocally regulated markets where it had been active and established a new online betting and gaming business unit within FDJ UNITED which complies fully with the laws of every jurisdiction. Was it difficult to integrate this multibillion-euro operator into FDJ UNITED and reshape the way business is conducted? Stéphane Pallez: From the beginning of this operation, we saw the planning and the execution of integration as a key ingredient for success. And also, from the start, we framed it as a much larger and fundamental project than solely integration. Therefore, we prepared thoroughly for this phase, as much as we could, ahead of the final completion of the deal. We designed in advance the organization of the Group post-acquisition, so we were able to work from day one in the new organization as one team to bring to life and further develop together this new international group, its new decision processes, and furthermore its new culture. As we all know, this is never achieved in one day but requires high involvement and energy at all levels. I am impressed and proud of the level of change we have already managed to achieve together. It strikes me that FDJ UNITED’s acquisition of Kindred effectively raises the standard of regulatory compliance. We’re here at the EL Congress Bern 2025, and you are embracing its theme of “Safeguarding the European Lottery Model; Building a Better World”, and turning words into action. Stéphane Pallez: FDJ UNITED aims to be the leader in locally regulated gaming markets, standing firmly with those who defend the authority of each country to define its own framework. The long-term health, stability, and sustainability of our industry depend on universal respect for the rule of law. That principle extends far beyond the European lottery model. European lotteries have long set the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and compliance, and they continue to lead by example. FDJ UNITED embraces the privilege and responsibility of being part of the global lottery community and stands firmly to support the goal of fighting illegal and gray-market operations. This was always our vision. Kindred had already begun the process of reshaping its business to comply fully with jurisdictional regulations worldwide when we decided on this operation. Our acquisition accelerated that transformation. Full compliance was an absolute precondition for moving forward with the deal. Continued on page 38
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