France’s competition authority has cleared Banijay Gaming’s plan to take exclusive control of JOA, which runs 33 casinos in France, without imposing conditions. The decision is a merger clearance, not confirmation that the deal has closed.
On 4 November 2026, the Autorité de la concurrence cleared Banijay Gaming’s acquisition of the JOA group, according to the authority’s press release and decision 26-DCC-215. Banijay Gaming had notified the transaction on 7 October 2026. The authority said it had examined land-based casino deals and online gambling deals before, but that this was the first time it had analysed a transaction that would create an operator active in both channels in France.
The parties
Banijay Gaming sits inside Banijay Group, itself part of Lov Group. In France, it is active in online sports betting, casino games, poker and horse betting through the Betclic brand. The Autorité’s description of “casino games” refers to Banijay’s existing online offer; online casino games remain prohibited in France, as the decision itself later discusses.
JOA operates exclusively in France. It currently runs 33 casinos. The authority said casino operations account for the vast majority of JOA’s revenue, with the rest coming from restaurants, bars and hotels in its casino complexes, which it operates under public-service concession agreements.
No direct overlap in casinos
The Autorité found that the parties’ activities did not overlap, because Lov Group is not active in the land-based casino market in France. On that basis, the review turned to whether the combination of an online operator and a casino group could still harm competition through conglomerate effects, especially where customers use both channels.
One issue the authority considered, and then set aside, was the possible legalisation of online casino games in France. That idea has been discussed by industry groups and members of parliament for several years, but online casinos remain prohibited. The Autorité said legalisation was still hypothetical at the date of the decision and was “not sufficiently plausible” under its merger guidelines to be assessed as a future market. The clearance therefore says nothing about whether France will later permit online slots or other online casino games.
Poker was the main area of scrutiny
The investigation did treat online poker and casino table games, including poker, as related markets. The authority said there is a shared player base across online and land-based poker, and that a younger age profile among casino customers is contributing to some convergence between those groups.
It consulted competitors and the national gambling regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ). Despite differences in how the game is played, the investigation found that poker players are inclined to switch between land-based casinos and online platforms. The Autorité therefore considered whether the combined group could pursue an omnichannel strategy, including commercial bundling across its activities, in a way that could harm rivals.
It concluded that the transaction was unlikely to harm competition through those effects. The reasons given were the parties’ market shares, the presence of significant competitors in their respective markets, and the limited contribution of poker to the overall business of JOA’s casinos. No remedies were required, and the deal was cleared in phase 1.
Who is affected
For JOA’s casino visitors, nothing in the decision itself changes how the 33 venues operate today. For Banijay and Betclic customers, the authority accepted that some poker players already move between online sites and casino tables, and that a combined owner could in principle try to link those offers. It did not find that this was likely to reduce competition, given the rivals already in both markets.
For other casino groups and online poker operators in France, the decision is a precedent. It is the first French merger review of a group that would span online gambling and land-based casinos, and it sets out how the authority will treat poker as a related market while declining to speculate about a legalised online casino market.
The clearance sits alongside other recent operator deals in Europe, including Allwyn’s agreement to license Kambi’s sportsbook code and Bally’s agreed purchase of Intralot. Those transactions, like this one, still have to be judged against the rules of each market in which the parties operate.
What happens next
Decision 26-DCC-215 is a competition clearance only. The authority notes that the decision can still be appealed. It does not itself complete the acquisition, and it does not replace any casino or concession approvals that French gambling rules may still require. Until those steps are finished, JOA and Banijay Gaming remain separate businesses for operational purposes.
If the deal does complete, the new group would be one of the few in France with both a substantial casino estate and a major online betting and poker brand. That structure will only become more significant if French law on online casino games changes, a possibility the Autorité deliberately left outside this review.
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. In France, online casino games remain prohibited. Information and support are available from official national services for anyone worried about their own or someone else’s gambling.
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