Journey To The West

About Journey To The West

The acquisition follows another recent French omnichannel agreement that saw Tipico and Betclic owner Banijay Entertainment’s gaming arm acquire JOA’s network of 33 regional casinos across France. 

Banijay did not disclose any financial details, except that the acquisition would be supported by funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital.

Merkur represents the gaming and leisure division of the Gauselmann Group, a historic German family-owned enterprise specialising in gaming machines, software and casino operations across Europe. 

About Journey To The West

Digital gross gaming revenue represented 64.5% of the parent company’s total in H1, up 3.6 percentage points from the previous year.

Registered customers increased to approximately 2,672,000 at the end of June, an increase of around 50,000 from the previous year.

For the first half of 2026, lottery and land based gaming generated €317.9 million in gross gaming revenue, remainin flat compared with H1 2025. 

About Journey To The West

According to KVA, KT van Bruggen, the current state secretary for Justice and Security, has pointed out the urgency of implementing effective countermeasures to limit access to such illegal platforms.

Last week a committee made up of MPs from across the Netherlands’ political spectrum also raised concerns around the role of Meta and Google in supporting the black market.

Candidates from the VVD party urged the government to take a “harder stance” against these big tech platforms.