The push to unify online and offline gaming channels has moved from industry aspiration to operational reality in several major markets. In France, PMU launched its PMU Play app in April, giving players a single login across sports betting, horse racing, and poker accounts. Banijay Group completed its acquisition of JOA Groupe in July, a move its CEO described as creating an omnichannel presence in France. Across the Atlantic, US casino operators have been syncing land-based loyalty programs with digital platforms for several years, and the trend shows no sign of slowing.
France’s single-login push
PMU’s PMU Play app consolidates what were previously separate betting, racing, and poker accounts under one login. Rivals Unibet and Betclic already offer similar single-login features in the French market, but for a group with a substantial retail footprint, the ability to sync physical activities with digital operations carries particular weight. PMU has spent recent years working to revive its fortunes after a stretch of difficult results, and the app is part of that broader effort.
Banijay’s July acquisition of JOA Groupe extends the group’s omnichannel playbook from Germany and Austria, where it operates Tipico, into France. CEO François Riahi told analysts on the company’s second-quarter results call that the JOA deal was “an opportunity to create an omnichannel situation in France, which is one of our largest markets.” He noted that building an omnichannel offering through physical sports betting was not possible in France because of FDJ’s retail monopoly, making JOA the available path.
A Banijay spokesperson told SBC-Gaming&Co that implementing omnichannel customer journeys in gaming is “more complex than in other sectors,” citing stringent requirements around compliance, player protection, and data security. The acquisition, the spokesperson said, “marks a new step in Banijay Gaming’s strategy to build a diversified European gaming business, in line with changing consumer expectations.”
US casino giants integrate first
US land-based casino operators moved faster on omnichannel integration than most of their European counterparts. With online sports betting becoming widely regulated from 2021 onward, companies such as Hard Rock, Caesars, and MGM were able to coordinate and sync millions of offline loyalty accounts with their online operations. Customers can use loyalty points earned at a physical casino through digital accounts and fund either casino or sports betting wallets from a single profile.
Online casino remains regulated in only seven US states, with Maine scheduled to launch in 2026. That regulatory gap has made the ability to link offline casino loyalty details with online sports betting accounts a key retention feature, particularly for players who hold multiple accounts across different verticals.
M&A as an omnichannel shortcut
Not every operator can build a physical and digital network organically. Mergers and acquisitions have become a direct route to omnichannel capability. The Lottomatica-CIRSA transaction is a case in point. Lottomatica’s statement on the deal emphasized that CIRSA’s 450 casinos, 85,000 gaming machines, and more than 2,000 sports betting retail outlets across Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Portugal would combine with Lottomatica’s “omni-channel expertise to accelerate CIRSA’s online expansion across its core markets.”
Banijay framed its JOA acquisition in similar terms, saying the deal “strengthens the group’s presence in land-based casinos and complements its digital leadership with a leading physical network, supporting JOA’s next phase of development, both in France and internationally.”
Structural and regulatory barriers remain
Operators that have long combined retail and online channels, such as Entain and Flutter in the UK, or Circus and Golden Palace in Belgium, do not publicize their omnichannel efforts as prominently, likely because the integration has been in place for years. The more visible wave now involves land-based lottery operators and casino groups entering or expanding online. MGM Resorts’ European online push through LeoVegas, along with moves by Allwyn and FDJ United, signals that the traditional reluctance of lottery groups to work with online operators has largely disappeared.
Regulatory requirements still complicate the picture. In many jurisdictions, responsible gambling rules mandate separate accounts for betting, casino, and racing products, a constraint that unregulated operators do not face. Technical challenges in unifying different product portfolios and their distinct functionalities have also slowed implementation for operators that did not allocate sufficient resources early on.
Two-way traffic between online and offline channels is now a defining feature of operator strategy. The competitive question going forward is less whether groups will pursue omnichannel integration and more how effectively they can execute it under compressed operating margins and increasingly complex compliance regimes.
Why It Matters
Operators that successfully sync loyalty, payments, and product access across physical and digital channels gain a measurable retention advantage in markets where players hold multiple accounts. For readers tracking operator strategy, the France and US examples show that single-login infrastructure and M&A are the two primary levers, while regulatory mandates for separate product accounts in many jurisdictions continue to limit how far integration can go. The margin-compression environment makes execution efficiency a competitive differentiator rather than a nice-to-have.
David Farbacu is a seasoned writer with a passion for games, gaming, casinos, and Xbox. With a wealth of experience in the industry, David brings insightful reviews, comprehensive guides, and engaging articles that cater to both casual gamers and hardcore enthusiasts. His expertise spans across various gaming platforms and genres, making him a go-to source for the latest trends and developments in the gaming world.
