A briefly owned subsidiary could cost the operator of France's national lottery, formerly known as Française des Jeux and now FDJ United (FDJ), hundreds of millions of euros. Trannel International Limited, registered in Malta, has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits across Europe (Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Norway). Now, it is proving to be a legal and financial time bomb for FDJ. The company came under the French group's control on October 11, 2024, following the €2.5 billion acquisition of Kindred, the Swedish giant that owns the prestigious brand Unibet. The deal was supposed to elevate FDJ to the status of European champion in online betting.

Fully aware of the legal risks hanging over its subsidiary, FDJ got rid of Trannel in less than three weeks. Officially, the French group stated that the goal was to achieve "a rapid, complete and definitive exit (...) from locally unregulated markets." However, the sale of Trannel, a move long in the making, could in fact prove disastrous for the French company. An investigation by Le Monde and the independent Dutch media outlet CasinoZorgplicht.nl, which specializes in online casinos and player protection, reveals that the former subsidiary continues to expose FDJ to major legal, financial and media risks, threatening the French group's European ambitions.

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