France’s Casinos Could See a New Challenger in Banijay JOA Groupe Acquisition

Look out Groupe Barrière and Groupe Partouche, because there may be a new player in the landbased French casino industry. Well, not entirely new, as JOA Groupe is officially the third largest national operator, and second by sheer number of casino venues, and at the beginning of July it was acquired by the French television and production company, Banijay. What does the TV distributor see in casinos and gambling? Turns out quite a lot, as the group also acquired German sports betting company Tipico in April, and they are sizing up JOA as a new milestone in the long-term growth strategy.

Through Tipico Group, Banijay Gaming (the gaming channel of the company), is seeking to expand the digital infrastructure to JOA Groupe’ wide network of landbased casinos. Securing funds from Blackstone and Kings Park Capital, Banijay promises to inject a war chest of resources into JOA Groupe’s venues, which are mostly small to medium sized, and could well disrupt the sector. Groupe Barrière and Groupe Partouche are still titans in French landbased casino gaming, but they have serious competition coming up ahead.

Banijay Gaming Acquires JOA Groupe

Banijay announced its acquisition of JOA Groupe on July 6, with funds from the two investment groups through a put option agreement. The goal now, for Banijay Gaming is to lean on the digital expertise of its other acquisition, Tipico Group, and to bolster JOA’s landbased casino network in France, speeding up their development locally and internationally. The completion of the acquisition is expected in the second half of the year, with employee representatives’ consultation and all the regulatory gaming approvals set to be completed.

Laurent Lassiaz, the Chairman of JOA who will stay on, said:

“Joining Banijay Gaming marks an exciting new chapter for JOA. After a successful period with Blackstone and Kings Park Capital, which laid the foundations for our growth, we have found another long-term partner with whom we share a common vision for the future… Together, we will be ideally positioned to pursue our ambitions in France and internationally.”

JOA Landbased Casinos

JOA Groupe boasts formidable numbers in the French landbased casino sector, with a network of 33 landbased casinos, generates approximately €430 million in gross revenue, and employs over 2,100 people. But it is still quite far off the two main companies, Groupe Barrière and Groupe Partouche, which own some of the biggest landbased casinos in France.

Groupe Barrière has 27 venues in France, with 3 in Switzerland, 1 in Portugal, 1 in Ivory Coast, and 2 in Egypt. It has 5 of the largest casinos in France, including those in Enghien-les-Bains, Blotzheim, Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Lille. And then there is Groupe Partouche, which has 38 casinos in France, with additional casinos in Switzerland, Belgium and Tunisia. The biggest of these include the casinos in Cannes, Aix-en-Provence, La Grande-Motte and Le Touquet.

• Joa Groupe: 33 domestic casinos. Biggest casino: Casino JOA de Montrond-les-Bains
• Groupe Barrière: 27 domestic casinos + 7 international casinos. Biggest casino: Enghien-les-Bains
• Groupe Partouche: 27 domestic casinos + 6 international casinos. Biggest casino: Pasino de Aix-en-Provence

JOA Groupe has been around since 1948, and the 33 casinos it owns right now are mostly smaller, regional destinations. Its main casinos include the Casino de Montrond, Casino de Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, Casino de La Seyne-sur-Mer, and Casino de Fécamp. In total, JOA has over 3,000 slot machines and 135+ gaming tables, serving roulette, blackjack, various poker games, and jackpot titles.

Who Are Banijay

Founded in 2007, Banijay Entertainment is best known as the world’s largest international content producer and distributor. It has a deep portfolio of productions, including reality hows, talk shows, game shows, film, and series. Though in 2024, Banijay began to shape up its gaming division, rebranding FL Entertainment to the Banijay Group. Now, with the arrival of Tipico to former acquisitions Admiral and Betclic, the Banijay Gaming platform is shaping up to be one of the most competitive sports betting platforms in Europe.

It spans over 55 sports, casino games, poker and horse racing (though this is only in France), and boasts over 2 million active users every month. The addition of JOA Groupe gives the gaming division a new vertical to expand into. Retail sports betting, and bringing in their digital expertise to enhance the regional gaming venues of JOA. With casinos spread out across Normandy, the Landes and Basque Country, Pyrénées-Orientales, the French Riviera, Rhône-Alpes, and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Banijay has a strong network through which it can target both locals and traveling guests.

French Landbased Casino Sector

If you are looking at numbers alone, France has the biggest landbased casino market in Europe. It has over 200 casinos, compared to around 140 United Kingdom casinos, 120 German casinos and around 50 casinos in Spain. Sure, many of these are not massive establishments like the US Las Vegas Strip casinos, or the mega casino resorts in Macau. Nor are they as deeply historic as the handful of Italian casinos, or as grandiose as the few Swiss landbased casinos. But France does have the numbers.

There are a few things to note about the French landbased casino industry for Banijay Group. Such as, the capital of Paris has a no casino rule. Only gaming clubs (clubs de jeux) are allowed, which can serve poker, blackjack an baccarat, but no roulette or slot machines. That is quite a sore omission, as slot machines are the most popular casino games, and roulette originated in France. The French roulette variant is highly popular in French casinos, with rules such as La Partage and En Prison that lower the house edge in favor of the players.

The other big surprising fact about France is that while the landbased casino industry is massive, online casinos are strictly forbidden. You can make online sports bets, bet on horse races, and even access online poker rooms in France, but online casinos are a no-go.

Online Casinos in France

At least, for the time being. Because the French government has proposed the notion of legalizing online casinos even as recently as 2025, but these have historically come against strong opposition from the landbased casinos and local authorities. Online sports betting was legalized back in 2010, and is regulated by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux, who are also responsible for fighting illegal online casinos in the country.

France is one of the last countries in Europe that hasn’t legalized online casinos, and while there would be plenty of suitors who would be interested in a potential market, no proposals have come to any fruition. Banijay Gaming, which has a strong online sports betting division, is one of the key players here. But should the subject of online casinos ever be revisited in France, this would also suit Banijay Gaming, as they could leverage the established JOA casino brand with the digital solutions and infrastructure. It remains, for now, a potential future market.

Banijay Gaming’s International Expansion

Tracing back to that statement by Banijay Gaming, and we couldn’t help but speculate what Banijay mean by “accelerating JOA’s next phase of development in France and internationally”. JOA Groupe, unlike Barrière and Partouche, does not have an international portfolio of casinos. It is really just focused in France, alongside main resort areas and regional touristic destinations, specifically the French Riviera and the south of France.

Banijay, the entertainment company, has assets in France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Benelux, Nordic Countries, Spain and Portugal, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, the US, the United Kingdom, and Asia. Really, it has all the main markets down. Banijay, the Gaming company, owns Betclic, the German Tipico Group, and Admiral Technologies (not to be confused with the Admiral Casino UK, an iGaming and landbased casino brand). Tipico is a main brand in Germany, Admiral has a strong presence in Austria and Betclic is the equivalent in the French online betting scene.

Where it May Take JOA Groupe

So if they were to bolster JOA’s portfolio with international landbased casinos, there are two main paths Banijay Gaming can take (or take both, if they have the resources).

One is to follow Barrière and Partouche in expanding to Francophone and neighboring countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Belgium and Tunisia.

Or, to make their own formula, leaning on their Austrian and German brands, and look for opportunity branching out into those countries. In either case, the local regulations will apply – it will be near impossible to break Switzerland, Germany or Austrian landbased casino industry where the commercial casinos are either state-run or heavily tied to state-run organizations. But if anyone can do it, a major leading brand like Banijay could find a path.

And back in France, where it is arguably easiest to boost JOA Groupe’s network, if this acquisition is approved then Barrière and Partouche may have a serious competitor to think about in the coming years.