Betsson France has been granted an online poker licence by France’s national gambling authority, the ANJ, and cleared to join the shared player liquidity arrangement that links French tables with those in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The licence decisions were published in the Journal officiel on 23 October and are listed among the regulator’s published decisions. Betsson France applied on 22 June. The ANJ’s list of licensed operators, dated 15 October, now shows the company holding both sports betting and poker licences.

Licence terms

The poker licence, issued under the “jeux de cercle” category, runs for five years to 15 October 2031 and is renewable but not transferable. The poker offer must be operated on betsson.fr. A separate decision dated 16 October approved the company’s poker platform software, and Betsson France must confirm to the ANJ that its data archiving system is operational before going live.

Betsson plans to launch on Playtech’s iPoker network. According to NEXT.io, the Swedish group’s French arm is the ninth operator authorised to offer online poker in France.

Shared liquidity

The ANJ also authorised Betsson France to share liquidity under Article 14 II of the 2010 law that opened the French online market. The pool operates under a July 2017 agreement between the French regulator, then known as ARJEL, Spain’s DGOJ, Italy’s ADM and Portugal’s SRIJ. Shared tables require the agreement of every regulator involved and approved software, and Betsson France must notify the ANJ of any change to its liquidity-sharing contract.

The liquidity-sharing regime allows players in the four countries to sit at the same cash game and tournament tables, provided the operator is licensed in each relevant market and runs approved software. Without it, French operators are limited to a ring-fenced domestic player base.

Access to the pooled player base is important for a new entrant in a market where traffic is concentrated among a handful of established rooms.

A growing vertical

Poker has been the fastest-growing of France’s three regulated online segments. Full-year 2025 poker revenue rose 6.5% to €525m after a 2.1% decline in 2024, with all of the increase coming from tournament formats. Active poker accounts climbed 16.5% to 2.5 million last year and unique players rose 15.1% to 1.9 million, according to ANJ market data reported by the trade press.

In the first half of 2026, Sit & Go tournaments generated €202m, around 70% of poker revenue, while gross gaming revenue for the wider French market outside land-based casinos and gaming clubs edged up 0.5% to €5.66bn.

Average revenue per active poker account fell to €126 in the first half of 2026 from €153 a year earlier, as reported by the trade press, suggesting the player base is growing faster than spend. That dynamic tends to favour networks with deep tournament schedules, which is where the iPoker partnership is expected to help Betsson compete.

The French poker launch adds to Betsson’s push into locally regulated markets. The group reported record third-quarter revenue last month, though profitability fell. In France it has so far competed in sports betting, a segment in which ANJ figures show stakes reached €11.5bn in 2025.

A launch date for the poker product has not been announced.

Hacksaw grew third-quarter revenue by 12% year on year to €58.1m, a marked slowdown from the 31% growth it posted in the second quarter, as a less favourable game mix cut the amount it earned per game round.

The Stockholm-listed slot developer said in its interim report, published on 3 November, that growth was unchanged on a constant-currency basis. Adjusted EBIT rose 15% to €48.3m, lifting the adjusted margin to 83% from 81% a year earlier. Profit for the period increased 18% to €45.7m and operating cash flow climbed 42% to €52.2m.

For the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached €175.0m, up 23% (27% at constant currency), with adjusted EBIT of €144.2m and an unchanged 82% margin. Nine-month profit rose 36% to €136.9m, diluted earnings per share increased to €0.473 from €0.348, and operating cash flow was up 35% at €140.9m.

Third-quarter revenue was slightly below the €59.3m Hacksaw generated in the second quarter, when first-half sales grew 29% to €116.9m. Quarterly diluted earnings per share rose to €0.158 from €0.134.

Adjustments mainly relate to costs connected to the company’s listing, severance for its former group chief executive and bonuses under a new long-term incentive programme.

Volume up, yield down

Game rounds played rose 19% in the quarter, but revenue per game fell year on year. Management described the mix as a temporary headwind that it expects to normalise over the coming months, while cautioning that it may weigh on short-term performance.

The company also flagged the closure of Brazil’s regulated market. The Brazilian government withdrew authorisation from all licensed operators at the end of September and the market shut in early October, which Hacksaw called a departure from the wider move towards locally licensed markets. The Brazilian licences expired as President Lula won re-election, leaving the future of the regulated regime uncertain.

New markets and prediction markets

Hacksaw entered Alberta and the City of Buenos Aires during the quarter. Since the end of September it has expanded with Sazka in the Czech Republic, following its launch on Sazka Hry, with Bally’s Intralot in the UK and with FanDuel in Connecticut.

In October the group unveiled Hacksaw Markets, a business-to-business prediction markets platform backed by an extension of its Malta Gaming Authority licence to cover Type 3 gaming services. Hacksaw said the product was built by its existing team within its current cost base, a point it stressed when it first announced the platform.

Leadership and buyback

Ana Vrabic Verdir, who had been interim group chief executive, was confirmed in the role during the third quarter. She also sits on the board.

“I remain confident in our ability to deliver on our long-term ambitions,” Vrabic Verdir said, adding that the company intends to remain a technology and AI-first business.

The board resolved to launch a share buyback of up to €20m, to run for a maximum of three months. Hacksaw left its long-term financial targets unchanged.

Margins remain exceptionally high for a content supplier, but the slowdown puts the onus on the coming months to show that the mix effect is temporary rather than a sign of maturing demand for its content.

Nevada casinos won $1.283bn from players in September, virtually unchanged from a year earlier, as a modest gain on the Las Vegas Strip offset weaker results downtown and in northern Nevada, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Statewide gaming win came to $1,282,542,554, down 0.05% from $1,283,234,042 in September 2025. The state collected $81.12m in percentage fees based on the month’s taxable revenue.

Strip up, downtown down

Strip casinos won $693.47m, a 0.82% increase on the $687.83m recorded a year earlier. For the third quarter as a whole, Strip win reached $2.15bn, up 1.70% year on year.

The rest of southern Nevada was softer. Clark County win fell 0.95% to $1.08bn, while downtown Las Vegas dropped 7.45% to $82.5m.

The downtown decline is notable given the investment that has gone into the Fremont Street corridor in recent years. A fall of more than 7% in a single month can reflect volatile table game hold, but it also points to the pressure on properties that rely on budget-conscious visitors rather than convention and premium leisure traffic.

In the north, Reno win declined 3.5% to $72.9m, while Sparks rose 20.8% to $17.1m, according to coverage of the report by CDC Gaming and News 3 Las Vegas.

The pattern of a small Strip gain set against wider declines has become familiar this year. Strip operators have leaned on events, conventions and premium play to hold revenue steady, while properties further from the Strip have seen more pressure from a slowdown in drive-in and value-focused visitors.

Below expectations

Citizens analyst Jordan Bender said the Strip figure for the quarter was “slightly below our expectations”, reflecting a market that has struggled to build momentum through 2026. Las Vegas began the year with a double-digit fall in Strip win in January and has since posted a run of low single-digit gains rather than a clear recovery.

The flat September comes against a backdrop of softer visitation and reduced air capacity into Las Vegas, which operators have pointed to in recent earnings. MGM Resorts reported a narrower quarterly loss last week, with its Strip business under pressure even as BetMGM contributed cash to the parent company.

What it means for operators

For the large Strip groups, the data reinforces a picture of a mature market in which growth is coming from pricing, events and high-end play rather than broad increases in visitor numbers. Downtown and locals-focused operators, who depend more on regional and value-conscious customers, are showing more strain.

Nevada’s figures also stand in contrast to the online channel elsewhere in the US, where iGaming has continued to grow, albeit at a slowing rate, in states that permit it. Nevada does not allow online casino gaming beyond poker, leaving its land-based market more exposed to swings in tourism.

Investors will be watching for any improvement in the final quarter. The fourth quarter typically benefits from a busy convention calendar and major sporting and entertainment events, and operators have pointed to forward bookings as a sign that demand at the top end of the market remains resilient. Results for the remainder of Clark County, and for the locals market in particular, will show whether the softness seen downtown in September is spreading.

The Gaming Control Board is due to publish October results at the end of November, which will give a first read on the start of the fourth quarter, traditionally supported by the convention calendar and major events on the Strip.