French Competition Authority Clears Banijay Gaming's Acquisition of Casino Group Joa

^{Casino Joa du Der, one of the 33 French casinos operated by Joa. (Photo: ADT Marne / Wikimedia Commons)}

France's competition authority has approved, without conditions, the takeover of casino group Joa by Banijay Gaming, the company behind the Betclic online brand. The Autorité de la concurrence announced the decision on 4 November, after the deal was notified to it on 7 October.

Joa operates 33 casinos, all in France. Banijay Gaming agreed in July to buy the group from funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital. At the time, the group described Joa as the country's second-largest casino operator, with revenue of around €430m.

A First for France

The authority said it was the first time it had reviewed a merger creating a single operator active in both land-based casinos and online gambling in France. It had previously cleared deals in each sector, but never one that combined the two channels.

Its investigation found that online poker and casinos, table games in particular, could be treated as related markets, because the same players use both. The authority therefore considered whether the new owner could run an omnichannel strategy, with joint commercial offers across Betclic and the Joa venues, and what that would do to rivals.

Why It Cleared the Deal

The authority ruled out any harm to competition on the strength of three findings that it cited itself: the parties' market shares, the presence of significant competitors in their respective markets, and the small weight of poker in the activity of Joa's casinos. It asked the parties for no commitments.

The authority concluded that combining Betclic and Joa would not harm competition, and attached no conditions.

It did not assess what would happen if online casino games were legalised. Online casino play is not permitted in France, and the authority judged the prospect too uncertain under its guidelines to include in the review. Its analysis was therefore limited to online poker against physical casinos, within the framework set by the 2010 law that opened the French online market to sports betting, horse racing and poker only.

What Comes Next

The competition clearance is not the last step. Banijay had said that completion also depends on the usual regulatory approvals for running casinos, which are handled separately. No completion date has been announced.

The question of online casino has been a live political issue in France, and the industry has watched for any sign of reform. Earlier this year there were reports that France was moving to legalise online casinos to align with EU standards, though nothing has changed in law.

The French regulator has meanwhile been active on advertising, having renewed its advertising oversight pact with the ad watchdog, a reminder of how closely the country's licensed market is policed.

The decision gives a template for future combinations of online operators and land-based casino groups in France, at least where poker makes up a small share of the casino business. It leaves the bigger question, whether French players will ever be able to play online slots and roulette legally, to the government and parliament.