- NBA’s First-Ever European Gaming Partner to Reach Millions of Fans in France Through FDJ’s ParionsSport Platform -
Française des Jeux (FDJ) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today a new multiyear partnership that will make Française des Jeux - the operator of France’s national lottery - the first official gaming partner of the NBA in France and the league’s first in this category in Europe.
The exclusive partnership will be promoted in more than 27,000 retail locations in France and on ParionsSport’s - FDJ’s gaming brand - and the NBA’s digital assets, including NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA France social media platforms, uniting millions of NBA fans and Française des Jeux customers across the country.
“We are excited to partner with Française des Jeux, the market leader in sports betting in France,” said NBA EME Vice President, Global Partnerships, Vandana Balachandar. “This collaboration will result in the best possible gaming and entertainment experience for consumers through the use of accurate, official, real-time NBA data, and demonstrates our collective efforts to maintain the integrity of our games.”
“Partnering with the NBA, the most prestigious basketball league in the world, will allow ParionsSport to get even closer to the action and offer a more refined gaming experience for gamers, enabling us to reach yet more fans,” said Head of Gaming Operations for FDJ, Richard Courtois. “Basketball is one of the most popular sports globally, and as a result of this partnership with the NBA, it will become even more popular and inspirational for our customers.”
As part of the partnership, Française des Jeux will use official NBA data and branding across ParionsSport’s land-based and digital sports gaming offerings throughout France. Française des Jeux and the NBA will also partner on best-in-class practices to protect the integrity of NBA games.
Fans in France can find more NBA information at NBA.com/France, the league’s official online destination in France hosted on beINSports.com, on Facebook (NBA France), Twitter (@NBAFrance) and the newly launched NBAEurope Instagram account. Fans can also purchase all the latest NBA merchandise at NBAStore.eu.
About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the NBA G League and the NBA 2K League. The NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2018-19 season featured 108 international players from 42 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.5 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.
About FDJ
Sports gaming constitutes one of the main pillars of FDJ’s activities. FDJ is one of the top 10 gaming operators in the world with sales doubling since 2010. Across over 30 sports, basketball is the third most popular sport after football and tennis in terms of sports gaming on the ParionsSport online and off-line offering; with the NBA being the second most popular sports league. In 2017 FDJ achieved 2,5 Mds€ in revenue off sports betting; with 17% coming from the ‘ParionsSport point de vente’ and ParionSport online. In 2018 to date, FDJ have achieved 1,6 Mds€ in the first half of the year (+24,6 %), of which 333 M€ is attributed to the FIFA World Cup.
