After completing the acquisition of Kindred for 2.45 billion euros, FDJ United did not stop, but started another deep transformation—internalizing the technology platform completely. CEO Stefana Palaez stated at the 2025 fiscal year financial report meeting that the strategic focus of the group's online gambling business has shifted from mergers and acquisitions to technology transformation, prioritizing internal platform migration and technology stack integration. In plain terms, it means to dismantle and crush the acquired technological capabilities and integrate them into our own engine. Currently, the casino business has been completely internalized, with nearly 60% of the revenue from sports betting in France supported by the self-developed platform, and the most complex migration of French accounts to the Kindred account management system will be completed in the coming years. Want to know how international gambling giants enhance competitiveness through technology integration? PASA official website continues to track industry strategic dynamics.
First, Strategic Shift: From "Buy, Buy, Buy" to "Cultivating Internal Strength"
Palaez clearly stated that the primary task of the online gambling business in 2025 is no longer mergers and acquisitions, but technology platform migration and architecture integration. This change is set against the background that the integration of Kindred has been basically completed, and the group needs to fulfill its structural separation commitments to antitrust authorities and release synergies through technological unification.
The completed work includes:
Domestic France: Completed the separation of exclusive rights lottery business and competitive online gambling, merging Parions Sport en Ligne and ZEturf
International markets: Continuous deployment of the proprietary KSP sports betting platform in the UK, Romania, Estonia
Poker and Casino: Casino business has been fully internalized (accounting for over half of the online gambling revenue in 2025), poker will migrate to the Relax Gaming technology stack in France
Second, The Toughest Battle: Migration of France to Kindred PAM System
Although the integration has been basically completed, Palaez admits that the most complex technical step has not yet started—migrating the French business to Kindred's Player Account Management (PAM) system to align with the group's other competitive businesses. She emphasizes this "is not urgent" and will be completed in the coming years without causing problems.
Currently, the progress of internalization of sports betting revenue is:
France: Nearly 60% supported by the self-developed platform
Markets pending migration: Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Australia (Palaez describes these businesses as "very small")
Third, Regulatory Pressure Forces Platform Autonomy
Palaez repeatedly mentioned the tax and regulatory resistance in core European markets and its impact on the internalization process. She particularly criticized the recent reforms in the Netherlands as "ill-considered," leading to a shrinkage of about 25% in the licensed operator market, with players moving to offshore platforms, and national tax revenue being damaged.
In the UK, the upcoming tax reform will affect online gambling from April 2026 and further impact sports betting in 2027:
Remote gambling tax: From 21% to 40% in April 2026
Remote sports betting tax: From 15% to 25% in 2027
In the context of stricter regulations, owning an autonomous technology platform means greater control and flexibility in response.
Fourth, Future M&A: Focus Remains on the Lottery Sector
Palaez clarified that in the short term, the online gambling department will not prioritize mergers and acquisitions, focusing instead on technology migration. However, she revealed that future transactions might focus on the lottery sector, especially international lottery business.
She stated that FDJ is pragmatically focusing on opportunities in the US online lottery market—"We know the US market is not as mature as France or Europe"—and has already started to explore opportunities with small investments.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
