Banijay Group delivered strong results in Q1 2026, spearheaded by growth in its gaming and sports betting division.
The Betclic and Tipico owner has seen overall revenue climb 9% to €1.15bn, though within its gambling operations, growth was even steeper at 17.3%.
The figures only form part of the story of the French group’s 2026 so far, which has consolidated its market position as a European leader in gambling as well as entertainment.
Uniting three European brands
The group’s acquisition of Tipico completed in April 2026 after the end of the Q1 reporting period, and so while the full financial rewards of that deal are not yet visible in these results, there is a clear sense of momentum around the group.
An agreement publicised in October 2025 saw Banijay bring the Betclic online betting and gaming brand together with Tipico under the Banijay Gaming umbrella.
In practice, this created a union of three major European brands, as Tipico had itself recently acquired Austria’s Admiral Group.
Banijay’s acquisition valued Betclic and Tipico at €4.8bn and €4.6bn, respectively, and was expected to double its gaming division’s revenue and cash flow in time.
Factoring in its non-gaming operations, this deal is not the only major restructure the Banijay Group is undergoing this year.
The Tipico deal will work in tandem with the anticipated combination of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media to make up a 2026 that François Riahi, CEO of the Banijay Group, is calling “transformative.”
He added: “Together, these transactions will significantly strengthen our scale, international footprint and IP capabilities across content, live experiences and sports betting and gaming.”
Gambling performance pre-acquisition
During Q1, Banijay saw 20% growth in unique active players across its current sports betting and gaming platforms.
This influx of users drove revenue up 17.3% to €433.1m.
The gaming segment offered a standout performance with casino, poker and turf revenue up 27%.
This success was attributed in part to the rollout of a new proprietary online poker platform in France and an online casino launch in Cote d’Ivoire.
Isolating the sports betting results, however, shows that this segment still contributes the lions share to Banijay’s gambling revenue.
In Q1, sustained player engagement drove a 14% rise in sportsbook revenue to €326.5m.
On these positive signals and the year ahead, Riahi added: “Sports betting & gaming continues to deliver strong growth, driven by ongoing product innovation and a +20% increase in Unique Active Players, the key commercial KPI.
“This demonstrates the strength of our product and customer proposition, and we are well positioned ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.”
