Legislation
New Caledonia – New Caledonia adjusting its laws to allow FDJ to operate
By Phil - 7 August 2019
La Française des Jeux, the state-owned operator of France’s national lottery games, could be about to set up in New Caledonia, a French territory comprising dozens of islands in the South Pacific.
At the end of July, the New Caledonia Congress unanimously voted in favour of a draft order to allow the operator to take its first steps on to the islands.
Currently in New Caledonia only the PMU is allowed to operate in terms of sports betting but there are also popular local bingo and two casinos in Nouméa. They operate alongside French-influenced restaurants and luxury boutiques selling Parisian fashions.
New Caledonia has 268,000 inhabitants. Based on what is earned by the government of French Polynesia where the FDJ is authorised, the Congress hopes that the FDJ will generate revenues of between €4.2m to €8.4m.
As it nears privatisation, the FDJ saw its players’ stakes increase by seven per cent to €8,420bn in the first half of 2019. Turnover increased 5.2 per cent reaching €944m.
