The FDJ in the process of privatization?

The EPA, the State Participation Agency and BPIFrance are seriously considering privatizing the FDJ in order to bail out the state coffers. With 26 million players under its belt, this lottery company, which is the second-largest lottery in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, is currently the prey of Bruno Lemaire, which, by privatizing it, has the sum of 10 billions euros in the bouquet of Bercy.

On the one hand, the incentives for the state to privatize the FDJ are no longer unknown to the large number. On the other hand, the arguments in favor of the preservation of the FDJ in the bosom of the State are better known are nevertheless numerous and strategic to go towards the setting up of a new Policy of the Games.

For Jean Marc Vittori, there is no doubt that if the French partially privatize the French Games, it will later profit from them in accordance with the presidential designs because this deprivation, if it is partially operated, would potentially be accompanied by a refounding of the Policy of the French Games exceeding the recommendations of the Court of Auditors.

It remains to be seen whether the current Minister of Economy, Bruno Lemaire, will take these strategic arguments into account or whether he will support the idea of ​​the current French President Emmanuel Macron who, in his day, Minister of the Economy, wanted to put on sale the FDJ.
The ambitions of the current occupant of the Elysée to leave the old world, to go beyond the traditional methods and the old blockages could actually cause an upheaval within the JHA industry, games of chance and money.

Nevertheless, gambling operators can use the momentum of the head of state to better display their ambitions, value their assets and display their cultural as well as economic influences as well as their stories.

After all, the problems highlighted by Emmanuel Macron are well known to the JHA as economic development, the brand "France", the importance of simplifying and reducing regulations or the need to lower taxes to promote the gambling industry.

The advantages of the privatization of the FDJ

Recall that the state holds the FDJ up to 72% for the moment. By privatizing it totally or partially, the games under exclusive rights would then be open to the players, thus offering them more freedom and choice. These games include lotteries, scratch games and sports betting.

Similarly, this enterprise run by Stéphane Pallez would lose its monopoly, the latter of which it often makes use and sometimes even the object of abuse. The incriminating facts of the FDJ are numerous and could have been revealed in the open if the AFP was less manipulable and if the media really went fishing for information.

There is a scandal about the predominant randomness, conflicts of interest, abuse of dominant position, high lottery ticket prices, outdated winning tickets, lack of transparency and lack of playful consumerism at the expense of interest of the players.

More fundamentally, privatizing the FDJ would allow the state to no longer pass for a Croupier State that exploits its people with games of chance and money. At the same time, casino operators will be satisfied with this privatization because they are opposed to monopolization. While they themselves hold the monopoly of the exploitation of traditional games and slot machines.

How to keep the FDJ would be the best option?

Even if the privatization case of the FDJ is constantly on the table, it seems that there are also arguments for its conservation. From an economic point of view, it would be more advantageous for the State to cede the Banque Postale rather than the FDJ because the Banque Postale is also a more lucrative private company than the FDJ.

Moreover, the bribe that the state would swear in the privatization of the FDJ would last very little time and would not regulate the financial health of the State. The latter would lose a daily income that had been constantly expanding for ten years for nothing concrete in return. On the other hand, the State would lose a symbolic society by the name of "French" games.

By privatizing the FDJ, the French state would open the games of chance and money to the competition but nothing indicates that it is the desire of the players. Even if the gambling is multiplied, it is not necessarily what players want and there is no indication that it is necessary to go through this phase of privatization to increase the taxation playful.

If the privatization of the FDJ really takes place, the state will have difficulty in empowering the players and protecting the vulnerable. On the other hand, if the State keeps the FDJ in its fold, it will have to assume its status of croupier State and entirely reframe its policy of responsible game.

Make the FDJ a global benchmark

From a global perspective, if the JDF lands in the private sphere, Emmanuel Macron's government will find it hard to implement its Game Policy. Therefore, what is needed is to register the French Games in a new policy of development of the game industry and harmonize with the presidential purpose.

By doing this, France will radiate in Europe but also in the world by implanting, for example, an international casino in Paris. Finally, the non-privatization of the FDJ is an excellent democratic tax in that players pay it voluntarily and non-players do not pay it.

Finally, the government could launch a global charity lottery to help the poor and create international solidarity. Such a humanitarian work would be more famous than the flat tax on air tickets but also more profitable than the Tobin tax on FTTs, financial transactions.

JHAs are based on the pursuit of gain, happiness and freedom. They have existed since the dawn of time and continue to stimulate the human soul. If the State and play operators can agree on the implementation of a common objective, it is certain that France will stand out both nationally and internationally.