French FDJ casts eye over UK Lottery

France has sold off its state-owned lottery and the newly privatised Francaise des Jeux is now casting an eye over the UK’s National Lottery, the licence for which is now up for grabs.

FDJ is now one of the most powerful bookmakers in Europe and media reports suggest it has held talks with Rothschild, the investment bank responsible for seeking a successor to Camelot, the lottery operator.

The privatisation of FDJ was the biggest stock market flotation for years and it is no coincidence that French president Emmanuel Macron was a senior executive with Rothschild before entering politics. He is selling off a number of state-owned companies to raise money.

The FDJ float gave him €1.8bn. The French Government is retaining a 50 per cent stake in the company.

The UK’s Gambling Commission is using Rothschild to run the National Lottery license auction – the first since 2009. When the formalities are concluded early next year the new licensee will run the lottery on a monopoly basis for up to 10 years, beginning in 2023.