La Française des Jeux (FDJ), a frontrunner in the global igaming market, has successfully completed the acquisition of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), the sole operator of Ireland’s National Lottery until 2034. This strategic move, sanctioned by the Irish National Lottery regulator in early October, marks FDJ’s inaugural operation of a lottery beyond its home territory in France, thus signifying a major leap in its international expansion plans within the igaming sector.
In 2022, PLI reported a Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of €399 million and a Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) of €140 million. This performance is noted to have an EBITDA margin in line with FDJ’s financial profile. Since assuming the license in 2014, PLI has been the exclusive operator of the Irish National Lottery, with rights extending into November 2034.
PLI maintains a robust employment base of over 200 personnel and offers approximately 40 different games. These games are accessible through an extensive distribution network encompassing over 5,300 retail points and a growing online platform, which accounts for more than 15% of its total sales. The sales composition of PLI’s offerings includes two-thirds from draw games and one-third from instant-win games. Notably, in the previous year, PLI allocated 65% of its GGR, amounting to nearly €260 million, to support over 4,000 charitable and Good Causes.
In pursuit of enhancing PLI’s market performance and profitability, FDJ is collaborating closely to establish a strategic plan. This plan will be built upon the exchange of best practices between the operators and will leverage FDJ’s proven experience to enrich PLI’s instant-win game portfolio, expand the draw games’ player base, and elevate the digital user experience for the Irish igaming audience.
Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and CEO of FDJ Group, said: “La Française des Jeux has opened a new chapter in its history by fulfilling its ambition to expand its international presence as a lottery and online gaming operator. The synergies between FDJ and Premier Lotteries Ireland will draw on our respective and acknowledged skills to offer people in Ireland a recreational, responsible range of games.”
Premier Lotteries Ireland’s CEO Andrew Algeo added: “FDJ’s backing marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in PLI’s history, which will benefit Ireland’s National Lottery and its many stakeholders. I am grateful to both Ontario Teachers’ and An Post who have been generous supporters of PLI, and the National Lottery has grown substantially and sustainably on their watch. The PLI team looks forward to further improving the Irish National Lottery with FDJ and contributing to FDJ’s international lottery expansion.”
