François Riahi, CEO of Betclic parent company Banijay Entertainment, has said the group would welcome increased competition in France if online casino were to be regulated.

Asked if potential regulation of the vertical would add risk to Betclic’s dominance of online sports betting and gaming in its home market, Riahi said the operator was “very ready to take the risk” of new entrants and potential major competitors accessing the market, “because we believe that there’s no comparison between the opportunity and the risk”.

“We are number one in online sports betting, we have the experience of managing cross-sell between sports betting and online casino in Portugal and in Ivory Coast, so we strongly believe that we have all the tools to also lead this market if it opens up,” he added.

Riahi made the comments during Banijay’s H1 analyst call, but noted that “unfortunately, there is no news” on whether regulation of iCasino will be on the agenda after the summer recess. “It has not been expressed as an option by the government for the next budget. So maybe it can come from the parliament. But so far, nothing has changed. But if (regulation) happens, I would not be worried at all. We are used to competing and gaining market share,” added Riahi.

Betclic’s H1 revenues rose 12.3% to €785m, with online sportsbook revenues up 10.3% to nearly €610m and online casino up 16.5% to €115m, adj. EBITDA increased 26% to €222m. The group said French tax rises were offset by its international activities in Portugal and Ivory Coast, but the higher taxation had cost €20m in adj. EBITDA during the period. Poker revenue was up nearly 30% to €48.7m thanks to product on its poker platform that have seen it jump from low single-digit share to around 20% in the past three years.

The strong performance was driven by a 25% YoY increase in unique active players and the revamped UEFA Champions League format that culminated in Paris Saint-Germain being crowned European Champions. At group level, Banijay revenues were up 5.6% to €2.2bn and adj. EBITDA was up 15.5% to €424.3m.

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