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Banijay’s bid for JOA is a ‘bet on French iCasino’
Conglomerate makes an omnichannel pitch for French B&M casino buyout.
In +More: Caesars nixes its Q2 earnings call.
Puts+takes: Gaming Realms gets a pre-update opus.
Venture playground: Predictions infrastructure provider Adjacent raises.
Hard Rock Bet is growing – we know you know! And we want to bring in some more maestros to make beautiful music in our Sportsbook. You need to be among the very best in the industry to be considered for these roles. Are you up to it?
Un punt
Marchons, marchons: Banijay’s planned acquisition of French B&M casino operator JOA is a long-term punt on the potential for iCasino to be regulated in France, according to industry consultants.
The deal announced this week would see Banijay take on JOA’s footprint of 33 casinos in France.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the company said the acquisition would “further expand” Banijay’s omnichannel capability.
But as one consultant who spoke to E+M on condition of anonymity suggested, Banijay buying JOA is a “fantastic proposition” if you believe iCasino will be regulated in France at some point in the future.
JOA to the world: The buyout would see Banijay add JOA to its portfolio of gaming businesses, including Betclic in France and the recent addition of Tipico in Germany, which it bought late last year for €4.6bn.
It has agreed to buy 100% of JOA from funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital, using a mix of equity and debt.
Completion is expected in H2, subject to employee consultation and regulatory approvals.
House advantage: JOA is France’s second-largest B&M casino operator by number of venues, alongside restaurants and five hotels. It generated ~€430m of revenue in 2025, attracts 4.6 million customers annually and employs more than 2,050 people.
CEO Laurent Lassiaz and the existing management team would remain in place.
On LinkedIn, Lassiaz said that to “position JOA as a key player in the context of the ongoing European consolidation, it was an exciting adventure.”
On tick: The consultant suggested a valuation in the €700m-€800m range, although they admitted that was necessarily speculative. Their central point was that JOA “runs very well and throws out cash.”
Another industry commentator who also spoke to E+M also on condition of anonymity similarly described it as a “really strong business” that could still look good in five years even if French online casino regulation goes nowhere.
Their reservation was that the price could become contentious if investors conclude Banijay has paid today for an opportunity that may not materialize for years.
Rien ne va plus: The timing underlines just how long-dated that bet may be. France briefly proposed opening iCasino through an amendment to the 2025 Finance Bill, including a proposed 55.6% tax on GGR, only to withdraw it in October 2024 and launch a sector consultation.
Pertinently, a Ministry of the Interior response published on July 2, a matter of days before the JOA announcement, reiterated that online slots and traditional casino games remain prohibited.
It argued that legalization would reduce land-based casino GGR, offer only a marginal net fiscal benefit and risk weakening businesses that support local employment and municipal finances.
It remains the case, therefore, that there is still no visible legislative runway and parts of the French state remain actively unconvinced by the case for opening.
Channel hopping: Banijay’s stated case is less dependent on waiting. Banijay Gaming chair Nicolas Béraud said the group can bring technology, AI and data expertise to JOA.
The press release highlighted CRM, product development and cross-selling between Banijay’s French online activities and JOA’s physical network.
The pitch is that JOA supplies an identifiable audience with a demonstrated propensity to gamble, while Betclic supplies the digital machinery to engage it more efficiently.
The consultants were receptive to that logic. One cited DraftKings’ acquisition of Jackpocket as a template for using an adjacent, already-engaged customer base to reduce acquisition costs.
But execution matters and the cautionary comparison is Gala Coral, where channel combination failed amid external shocks and management conflict.
As the commentator argued, the opportunity exists, but only if the assets are genuinely integrated rather than simply housed together.
Queue jumping: But as one of the consultants suggested, while the crossover into sports betting is plausible, the broader omnichannel claim is “a bit of a stretch” because the evidence from the US and UK is mixed.
France could become a genuine European test case. If any future regime gives existing casino concessionaires privileged access to online licenses, owning JOA would place Banijay near the front of the queue.
The unanswered questions are whether licenses would be linked to land-based operations and whether owning 33 casinos is the most efficient way to secure that position.
Eurovision: The deal follows the April completion of Banijay’s €4.6bn Tipico acquisition, which added a major German and Austrian retail estate to Betclic’s digital strength.
As E+M noted when the combination was announced, the enlarged gaming arm was already being pitched as a collection of regulated-market “local heroes,” with pro-forma revenue of about €3.5bn and EBITDA of €1bn.
JOA is smaller, but it pushes the same model deeper into Banijay’s home market.
Turn off the TV: It also strengthens the question raised late last year that the more Banijay Gaming acquires scale, brands, cash flow and operational depth, the less obvious the industrial logic of keeping it permanently tied to a TV production conglomerate becomes.
JOA does not force that debate, but it makes the gaming division look still more like a self-contained European consolidation platform.
Moreover, were a miracle to happen and France went ahead and licensed iCasino, the JOA purchase could look like a masterstroke with its strategic value transformed.
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+More
Earnings+less: Caesars Entertainment, which is currently the subject of a take-private on the part of Fertitta Entertainment, has announced its earnings release date on July 28 but said it would not be conducting a call with the analysts.
Cirsa has issued €575m of senior secured notes carrying a 4.875% coupon and maturing in October 2031. Guaranteed by parent Cirsa Enterprises, the bonds were offered publicly, with proceeds earmarked for refinancing, and support Cirsa’s broader ongoing debt management strategy and its gaming operations across Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Scorecard
Prediction markets enjoyed unprecedented momentum in June, according to a report from Macquarie, which pointed out that Kalshi generated ~$33bn of monthly volume and increased its market share to ~65% vs. 57% in May. The boom was driven by World Cup trading, with combined industry volume hitting $50bn+.
Read ahead
Risk checks: The UK Gambling Commission will introduce financial risk assessments in stages, beginning with customers depositing more than £5,000 net in 24 hours or £2,500 for under-25s. The credit reference agency checks will be document-free and leave credit scores unaffected, with lower thresholds planned eventually. The Betting & Gaming Council said it was “deeply disappointed,” arguing reliability, consumer impact and black-market risks remain unresolved despite the Commission’s staged approach to implementation.
Puts+takes
Gaming Realms
30 something: Investors are betraying an “undue caution” with the provider of the popular Slingo game – which reaches its 30th year anniversary this year – according to the team at Peel Hunt, who have issued a note ahead of a pre-close update later this month.
The strategic read is a business steadily reducing dependence on a hostile home market.
The analysts estimate the UK will contribute just 16% of H226 revenue, leaving growth to the 34 other regulated markets Gaming Realms now supplies.
The US is the engine with content licensing there rising 22% in H125, while there have been recent go-lives in three African countries and Peru, alongside the Lucky Lunar launch.
Damaged goods: However, Peel Hunt’s actual forecast for H1 is for revenue to fall 9% YoY to £14.6m, with adj. EBITDA also tipping into negative territory, down 11% to £7.4m.
Two things are pinned as doing the damage. Brand licensing, which spiked to £2.4m in H125, is assumed to collapse to £0.2m, a soft comp.
And UK content licensing faces net-nil growth as the post-stake-limit recovery is swallowed by remote gaming duty climbing to 40% from 21% in April.
Indeed, Peel Hunt argued the company has shown “extraordinary resilience” in the face of successive blows in the UK.
“The quality of Gaming Realm’s business is evident from the way the bottom line has largely absorbed major negative impacts in the UK,” they added.
Macau
World Cup wobble: The June GGR number of MOP18.5bn ($2.3bn) was down 12% YoY and 18% sequentially, missing expectations, as the World Cup and weaker premium play weighed on demand, Macquarie said.
Despite visitor arrivals rising 10%, higher footfall is not translating into gaming revenue.
With the World Cup running through July 19, Macquarie cut its Q3 growth forecast to 2% from 6% and its 2026 estimate to 5.4% from 7.7%.
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Venture playground
Funding news
Adjacent: Prediction market infrastructure provider Adjacent has raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding from Night Capital, VanEck, UFO Holdings, Maven 11 and Digital Currency Group. The company describes itself as the first independent, third-party index provider for event contracts and prediction markets.
The fundraising follows the launch of Adjacent’s first US elections index family.
Its RED and BLUE composite indices aggregate prices from numerous political event contracts to track forward expectations of Republican and Democratic control across US offices, including presidential, congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral contests.
The products are designed to turn fragmented individual markets into consolidated benchmarks that can be followed by traders, researchers and media organizations.
Adjacent said the capital would support the rapid expansion of its index range beyond US politics. Planned areas include global elections, financial markets, economics and other event-driven categories.
The company is also inviting counterparties to develop custom indices, incorporate its data into editorial products or explore trading applications.
Take it to the BR-DGE: An Edinburgh based payments company called BR-DGE has raised £10m, led by Bettor Capital. The company said the capital would help boost international growth and platform improvements and new products.
Thomas Gillan, CEO at BR-DGE, said the next generation of payments is not about moving money but about optimizing each transaction.
“We are building the intelligence and optimization layer that enables merchants to maximize the performance of every payment,” he added.
“This new funding will enable us to further develop our platform, power our growth plan and help more merchants solve the payment infrastructure problems that matter most in large-scale businesses.”
Bettor Capital’s Jake Kleiner said BR-DGE was a prime example of an enabler company working in the gaming space.
Growth company news
Prospect Markets has signed a non-binding letter of intent with Crypto.com-backed OG Broker to launch a sports-focused US prediction market offering. The proposed arrangement would provide access to CFTC-regulated event contracts and clearing infrastructure through North American Derivatives Exchange. Prospect raised C$2m ($1.4m) last month from backers including Matco Financial, Lucida Capital and AlphaNorth.
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In focus – BetStudio.ai
Who are you: BetStudio.ai is a London-based sports-betting technology company founded in 2023 by David Butler. Operating under BTR Media, the company has developed a sentiment-driven API feed that generates natural betting opportunities based on real-time fan interest and engagement.
“BetStudio.ai analyzes fan sentiment across a broad range of digital sources to identify the stories, narratives and moments that matter most to sports fans before and during live events,” says Butler.
“The platform integrates directly with sportsbooks, providing an ultra-low-latency feed of emotionally resonant betting opportunities designed to increase engagement and betting activity.”
The model is sport, language and territory agnostic, enabling operators to deliver localized and audience-specific betting opportunities across multiple markets worldwide.
What’s the big idea? Traditional sports-betting content is largely driven by statistics, pricing movements and pre-defined market structures. BetStudio.ai takes a different approach by identifying what fans are actually talking about, reacting to and emotionally invested in.
The company believes there is a “significant gap” between the betting markets operators offer and the narratives that drive fan engagement.
By using AI to surface sentiment-driven opportunities in real time, BetStudio.ai helps operators create betting experiences that feel more relevant, timely and engaging.
The platform identifies emerging narratives before and during sporting events.
Betting opportunities can be tailored to specific audiences, regions, languages or even opposing fan bases.
The technology enables operators to generate unique, high-engagement content without relying solely on traditional trading workflows.
The result is a new category of betting opportunities driven by fan emotion rather than static models.
KPIs: BetStudio.ai is focused on helping operators increase the volume of higher-margin bets placed across their platforms. The platform generates highly emotive betting opportunities that naturally lend themselves to singles, bet builders and accumulators.
“Success is measured through increased engagement with generated opportunities and growth in higher-margin betting activity,” says Butler.
He adds that the company is currently working with a major European operator under a non-exclusive commercial retainer to continuously develop and scale these outcomes.
Funding backgrounder: The company has been funded entirely through private investment since its launch.
Upcoming earnings
Jul 17: Evolution, Betsson
Jul 21: Hacksaw Gaming
Jul 22: Kambi
Jul 29: Churchill Downs (earnings)
Jul 30: Churchill Downs (call)
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