French Competition Authority Clears Banijay's JOA Casino Deal Without Conditions

France's Autorité de la concurrence cleared Banijay Gaming's acquisition of exclusive control of the JOA casino group without conditions on 4 November 2026, its first review of a deal that creates an operator active in both online and land-based gambling in France.

The Autorité de la concurrence is the French Competition Authority. Its Decision 26-DCC-215 names Lov Group, the ultimate parent of Banijay Group, as the acquiring entity. Banijay Gaming, which runs Betclic, notified the transaction on 7 October 2026, so the Banijay JOA review took about four weeks.

What the Autorité decided

The Autorité found that the deal was unlikely to harm competition and attached no remedies. The parties' activities do not overlap: Lov Group is not active in the French casino market, and JOA operates only in France.

Banijay Group is active in French online gambling through Banijay Gaming and Betclic, covering sports betting, casino games, poker and horse betting. JOA derives the vast majority of its revenue from casino operations. The rest comes from restaurants, bars and hotels in its casino complexes, which it runs under public service concession agreements.

The Autorité had reviewed deals in land-based casinos and in online gambling before. What made this one new was the combination of both channels under a single operator.

Why poker was the only related market

The Autorité identified one meaningful link between the two businesses: online poker and the casino market, particularly table games including poker. It treated them as related markets because they draw on a shared player base.

The investigation found a younger age profile among casino customers, which is contributing to some convergence between online and land-based poker players. The authority consulted competitors and the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), France's national gambling regulator, and concluded that poker players are inclined to switch between casinos and online platforms.

The Autorité accepted that the merged group could pursue an omnichannel strategy, including commercial bundling of online and in-venue offers. It still ruled out conglomerate harm, citing three factors:

• the parties' market shares;
• the presence of significant competitors in each market;
• the limited contribution of poker to JOA's casino business.

A conglomerate effect is a competition concern that arises when a merged firm leverages strength in one market to weaken rivals in a neighboring one. The Autorité did not find that risk credible here.

Online casino legalisation kept out of the analysis

Online casinos remain prohibited in France. Industry stakeholders and parliamentarians have discussed legalisation for years, and Gamingo has covered the debate in France's consideration of online casino regulation and its exploration of the future of online casino rules.

The Autorité judged a legalisation scenario too hypothetical and not "sufficiently plausible" under its merger guidelines. It therefore did not assess the transaction on the basis that online casino games might one day be permitted. Any future change to the prohibition would sit outside this decision.

Deal background and what remains

Banijay Gaming signed a put option agreement on 6 July 2026 to buy JOA from funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital. JOA is France's second-largest casino operator, with about €430m in gross gaming revenue in 2025 and more than 4.6 million visitors a year.

Banijay guided to completion in the second half of 2026. The stated conditions were consultation of JOA's employee representatives and customary approvals, including merger control, now obtained, and casino gaming regulatory approvals.

Laurent Lassiaz, CEO of JOA, said at signing that Banijay Gaming's "technological and digital expertise will allow us to accelerate our omnichannel development." He will continue to lead JOA.

The transaction follows Banijay's Tipico acquisition, which it completed on 23 April 2026 and which Gamingo first reported when Banijay Group took a 65% stake in Tipico and merged it with Betclic. For another example of a competition authority weighing a gambling merger, see the UK Competition and Markets Authority's review of Spreadex and Sporting Index.

What it means for operators

The decision shows how the Autorité will approach cross-channel gambling deals: it looks for a shared customer base, tests bundling risk and weighs competitor strength in each market. Poker emerged as the point where online and land-based play meet. Operators planning combinations of online and casino assets in France should expect that product overlap, rather than the existence of both channels, to drive the analysis.

Status reviewed on 8 November 2026. Figures and findings come from the Autorité de la concurrence press release and Banijay's company releases. More regulation news and EMEA coverage.