The Autorité clears Banijay’s acquisition of Joa in France without conditions
Decision finalises deal announced in July and adds 33 Joa casinos to Banijay’s portfolio.
Key Takeaways
- The Autorité de la Concurrence approved Banijay’s acquisition of Joa Group without conditions on 7 November 2026.
- The review was the first in France to assess a deal combining online betting and land-based casinos.
- Regulators focused on poker and concluded the transaction will not distort competition.
- The purchase adds Joa’s 33 casinos to Banijay’s portfolio, which already includes Betclic and Tipico.
Banijay Group obtained approval from the Autorité de la Concurrence for the acquisition of casino operator Joa Group without conditions, the authority announced on 7 November 2026. The decision closes the first review in France to assess a transaction combining online betting operations and physical casinos; regulators found no evidence of a substantive restriction of competition.
Scope of the review and focus on poker
The Autorité de la Concurrence focused its analysis on links between digital betting platforms and land-based gaming venues, with special attention to poker, where it identified the greatest overlap of customers between the two environments. After consultations with rival operators and with the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) — the French gambling regulator — the authority found that users, in particular younger customers, tend to move between online platforms and casino floors.
Despite that mobility of players, the Autorité concluded that remedial measures were not necessary because, among other reasons, there are strong competitors in the market and poker plays a relatively limited role within Joa’s overall activity.
Current regulation and future scenarios
The authority’s assessment took into account the current legal framework in France, under which online casino games remain illegal. The Autorité de la Concurrence stated that it did not consider a possible future legalisation of online casinos because that policy hypothesis is too uncertain to be evaluated now.
The French government had floated proposals to regulate the vertical segment of online casinos, but those initiatives faced opposition from land-based operators and from local authorities in areas with casino presence. The Autorité assessed the potential effects of the deal within the existing legal framework.
Assets and deal background
Banijay announced its intent to acquire Joa in July 2026. Joa Group, currently owned by funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital, operates 33 casinos in France. The purchase will add a significant network of land-based venues to Banijay’s gaming portfolio, which already includes the sports-betting operator [Betclic](/sports) and the German sports-betting group Tipico.
When the deal was announced, Laurent Lassiaz, chairman of Joa, defended the complementarity between digital transformation and the local identity of the casinos. He said the technological experience and digital innovation brought by Banijay would accelerate Joa’s omnichannel ambitions “while allowing us to preserve the entrepreneurial spirit and local roots that have always been our strength.”
Banijay Group chief executive François Riahi linked the acquisition to the group’s transformation strategy: “As in Germany and Austria, we will become a leader in land-based gaming in another one of our key countries: France.”
What the deal incorporates and why the authority did not act
The transaction will integrate Joa’s 33 casinos into Banijay’s portfolio, strengthening its land-based presence alongside the online brands already controlled by the group. The Autorité de la Concurrence considered that the combination of existing market positions, the presence of relevant competitors and poker’s limited contribution to Joa’s revenues mitigated concentration risks that would have justified remedial measures. The addition of physical venues also complements Banijay’s online operations and [casino](/casino) strategy.
“The transaction does not raise competition concerns requiring conditions,” the Autorité de la Concurrence said in its decision.
The ruling is the first in France to explicitly address a transaction crossing digital and physical channels in the gaming sector, and it is conditional on the maintenance of the current legal framework on online casino games.
Frequently Asked Questions
What decision did the Autorité de la Concurrence make about Banijay’s purchase of Joa?
The Autorité de la Concurrence approved the acquisition without imposing conditions on 7 November 2026, concluding that the transaction does not raise competition issues requiring remedial measures.
Why was poker the main focus of the investigation?
Poker concentrated scrutiny because it shows the greatest overlap between Banijay’s online activity and Joa’s land-based operations; regulators found that some players, particularly younger users, move between online platforms and casino floors.
What assets does Banijay acquire with the deal?
The transaction incorporates the 33 casinos operated by Joa Group in France; Joa was owned by funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital before the July 2026 announcement.
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About the author
Gonzalo Marín
Industry Deals Correspondent
Gonzalo Marín covers the corporate deal flow of gambling — operator strategy, M&A, regulated-market entries, and product launches. The reports open with the transaction, cite companies, valuations, and jurisdictions exactly as released, and keep the announcement apart from its actual effect. When a Latin American operator raises capital or a European brand lands in the region, Gonzalo Marín reports who signs, for how much, and on what terms.
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