Entertainment
The operator is focused on making unique active player gains during the World Cup this summer and does not want its Tipico integration to get in the way.
Banijay Entertainment today released its FY25 earnings, in which revenue for its gaming segment grew 10.2% to €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion). Sportsbook accounted for the majority of revenue (76%) and was up 6.8% during the 12-month period, which CEO François Riahi lauded as impressive considering 2025 had lacked major sporting events compared to 2024.
During the group’s earnings call on Friday, Riahi said the gaming division was prioritising preparing for the upcoming Fifa World Cup in June, over integrating the Tipico business it acquired a 65% stake of in October.
As part of the deal, Banijay said it would merge Tipico with its Betclic business, to become the fourth largest European sports betting and gaming player, as well as the leader of sports betting in continental Europe.
“Every two years for this business we have a big [sporting event] and the World Cup is even bigger than the Euros. That’s a very strong moment for engagement and increasing our revenue so there’s no reason 2026 should be different. We are so happy to have Tipico as a boost, but we announced previously that we would not start the integration before the World Cup,” Riahi told anaylsts.
“Today at Tipico they are totally focused on preparing new features in the application and to have everything ready to make the most of the [event].”
Ivory Coast iGaming launch in 2025
Banijay’s gaming business accounted for 33% of the group’s revenues, with its streaming services continuing to make up the majority of the business in 2025.
Unique active players across the gaming business grew 23% during the period, and the operator said cross-sell between iGaming and betting had increased. Igaming accounted for 16% of total gaming revenue at €249 million. In 2025, it launched iGaming in the Ivory Coast, which it said had been successful.
During the period its proprietary online poker platform was also launched in France. Poker made up 7% of the gaming business.
Riahi remained tight-lipped about Banijay’s upcoming strategy for the Tipico Betclic business, noting the operator would hold a public session on 26 March to outline the roadmap.
He noted there had been some headwinds from increased taxes in France. Total tax expense across both the entertainment and gaming businesses was €142.5 million, up 29% from the previous year.
The CEO said despite the tax increase in France, disciplined cost management efforts had helped boost the gaming arm’s adjusted EBITDA margin by 0.6 pts to 26.7%.
Marketing spend for the year was 6%-8% of total revenue for gaming, which was partially reduced by an uplift in advertising taxes in France.
Banijay Entertainment makes its own big acquisition
Following its Tipico purchase on the gaming side, the streaming business dipped its toe in the M&A pool in early 2026, acquiring All3Media earlier this week. The company said the deal would “increase penetration with global streaming platforms, while accelerating IP monetisation through digital and live adaptations”.
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Nicole Macedo