France Clears Banijay Gaming's Takeover of JOA's 33 Casinos Without Conditions

The Autorité de la concurrence has let Betclic's owner buy France's second-largest casino operator, finding no overlap and no bundling risk. Its first look at an online and land-based combination turned on poker, and set aside online casino legalisation as too hypothetical to weigh.

• France's Autorité de la concurrence cleared Banijay Gaming's acquisition of sole control of the JOA casino group without conditions in decision 26-DCC-215 of 4 November 2026
• It found no overlap because Banijay's parent, Lov Group, does not operate casinos in France, and judged that bundling online poker with JOA's casino tables was unlikely to harm competition
• The authority declined to assess the deal as though online casino gaming were legal in France, calling legalisation hypothetical at the date of the decision
• JOA runs 33 casinos and reported about €430 million of gross revenue in 2025; no price has been disclosed for the purchase from funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital
• The deal follows Banijay's combination of Betclic and Tipico and still needs casino gaming approvals before it can close

The Autorité's First Online and Land-Based Gambling Merger Passes Without Remedies

Banijay Gaming notified the Autorité de la concurrence on 7 October 2026 of its plan to take exclusive control of JOA, and the authority cleared it without conditions on 4 November. The authority said it was the first deal it had analysed that creates an operator active in both land-based and online gambling in France. The full decision, in French, had not been published when the authority issued its press release.

The authority describes Lov Group as a diversified group whose subsidiary, Banijay Group, is active in French online gambling, including sports betting, poker and horse racing, through Banijay Gaming and its Betclic brand. JOA operates only in France, where casino gaming makes up the vast majority of its revenue; the rest comes from restaurants, bars and hotels inside casino complexes that it runs under public service concession agreements.

Because Lov Group is not active in the French casino market, the authority found no overlap between the parties. Its inquiry, which consulted competitors and the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), instead examined conglomerate effects. It concluded that online poker and the casino market, particularly table games including poker, could be treated as related markets because they share a player base, and found that a younger casino clientele was bringing online and land-based poker players closer together. The ANJ found that poker players are inclined to switch between casinos and online platforms despite differences in how the game is played, according to the press release.

It therefore tested whether the combined group could harm rivals by bundling, and ruled that out on three grounds: the parties' market shares, the presence of significant competitors in each market, and the limited contribution of poker to JOA's casino business. No market share figures were published.

A Put Option, Debt Financing and Approvals Still to Come

Banijay announced on 6 July that it had committed to buy JOA from funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital under a put option agreement, and will own 100% of the company on completion. Its announcement describes JOA as France's second-largest casino operator by number of venues, with 33 casinos, more than 4.6 million visitors a year and more than 2,000 employees. Its 2025 gross revenue of about €430 million combines gaming revenue with leisure, restaurant and hotel income on a pro forma basis. No price was disclosed.

The deal is financed with debt and equity. On 21 October Kirkland & Ellis said it had advised Banijay on €450 million of senior secured notes to fund part of the purchase, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Banijay's July announcement made closing subject to consultation of JOA's employee representatives, competition clearance and the regulatory approvals required to operate casinos. Laurent Lassiaz, JOA's chairman, will continue to lead the business.

The Autorité cleared Blackstone's own takeover of JOA in September 2017.

The Poker Finding Is the Precedent That Matters

With no overlap between the parties, the outcome was unsurprising; the reasoning is what will be cited. By accepting that online poker and casino table games are related markets, the Autorité has given itself a framework for any future combination of a French online licensee and a casino group. For now that framework rests on poker alone, a small part of JOA's business and an online market with several licensed operators, which Betsson France entered in October. Applied to a larger casino group, the same test could produce a different answer.

Online Casino Was Set Aside, Not Settled

The authority's refusal to weigh online casino legalisation is the decision's most consequential limit. Under its guidelines a hypothetical legal change does not count, so the deal was judged as if Betclic could never offer slots or table games online in France. Banijay's own case for the deal is cross-selling between its online brands and JOA's casinos. If parliament ever opens online casino gaming, the overlap this decision found absent would exist overnight, between Betclic and the country's second-largest casino network by venues.

Casinos Give Betclic a Licensed Home for Games It Cannot Sell Online

Online casino gaming remains prohibited in France, so land-based venues are the only way a Betclic-owned group can offer slots and roulette there. That makes JOA a hedge either way: a physical casino business if prohibition holds, and a ready-made omnichannel partner if it ends.

The Autorité has cleared the deal on the law as it stands. The question it chose not to answer is the one that will decide how much JOA is worth to Banijay.