In October 2024, FDJ acquired Kindred for approximately €2.5 billion. With this transaction, FDJ United became a major player in online gaming in Europe, with iconic brands such as Unibet, Maria Casino and 32Red. Among the subsidiaries acquired was Trannel International Limited, based in Malta, Unibet’s long-standing operator for several European countries. But Trannel was already facing numerous legal proceedings: the group had been operating without a licence in countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Norway, exploiting a grey area between the freedom to provide services and the absence of a clear regulatory framework. An investigation by Le Monde and CasinoZorgplicht.nl.
Massive convictions and refunds
In March 2025, a court in The Hague ordered Trannel to pay €271,301 to a Dutch player because its unlicensed operations rendered the gaming contracts null and void and therefore the losses unduly collected recoverable.
Previous rulings have already ordered the repayment of sums ranging from €38,000 to €106,000 to other plaintiffs; it is now estimated that the potential costs could reach between €200 and €300 million.
In most cases, Trannel does not comply with court decisions: late responses, partial information, refusal to communicate, use of local law (Bill 55) to challenge foreign judgments.
Even the Maltese authorities in charge of the GDPR have requested the transfer of user data. Despite the formal order, Trannel has not complied with this injunction, thus exposing the data to illegal use.
The Kansspelautoriteit confirmed to Le Monde:
‘No licence was issued for online gambling during the period. This could constitute a criminal offence under Dutch law.’
An urgent resale
Aware of the legal risks, FDJ sold Trannel less than three weeks after the acquisition was completed. The official announcement stated that it wanted to withdraw from unregulated markets without delay. Officially, the new structure (renamed Risepoint Limited) became solely responsible for ongoing litigation.
This decision, which had been in the works for some time according to the investigation by Le Monde and CasinoZorgplicht.nl, seems more like a containment operation than a simple divestment.
A dubious buyer: who is Carlos Strazzer?
The buyer is none other than Carlos Strazzer, a Brazilian entrepreneur at the head of Ventures Lab, a complex group based in Sofia and operating from several jurisdictions: Malta, Cyprus, Curaçao, Liechtenstein, etc.
This structure, considered opaque, sometimes relies on cryptocurrencies to circumvent anti-money laundering obligations. Strazzer has refused to comment publicly, while the FDJ invokes its right to opacity regarding the amounts and terms of this transaction.
Potentially illegal customer data
Trannel’s database, transferred to Risepoint, contains sensitive data on thousands of players: identities, documents, gaming habits, transactions, etc. This is a highly monetisable digital treasure trove, but one that may have been collected without legal basis, since the operations that fed it were illegal from the outset under the GDPR.
For a specialist lawyer, the commercial use of this data would constitute a criminal offence in itself and could bring the FDJ back into the spotlight, despite the sale.
The risk of non-renewal of the licence in the Netherlands
The Dutch regulator is keeping a close eye on the situation. Two MPs from the CDA and SP parties have called for a review or non-renewal of Unibet’s licence, which is valid until 2027, arguing that past breaches should weigh on the brand’s future.
If the authorities find that the FDJ deliberately avoided legal risks by selling Trannel, this could seriously compromise its presence in the Netherlands (estimated at €170 million per year).
For Benzi Loonstein, the lawyer involved in these lawsuits, the premature resale of Trannel to Risepoint could be part of a strategy known as ‘establishing a deathbed’: isolating risky assets in an entity ready to go under, leaving creditors with no recourse.
‘You can’t buy a company and say, “I want the assets and not the debts”. The Dutch courts will not be fooled, they will not accept it.’
Outlook: can FDJ pull through?
The FDJ asserts that Risepoint is now solely responsible for ongoing litigation. However, if the courts find that the transfer was intended to circumvent debts or that the transfer of data was illegal, the FDJ could face indirect liability.
On the other hand, failure to renew Unibet’s licence in the Netherlands would appear to be a direct blow to its European ambitions, and the annual volume of €170 million in local revenue would be compromised.
In short: an Everest of legal risks
What appeared to be a simple divestment is in fact a colossal risk: hundreds of millions potentially claimed, possible dismissal in the Netherlands, personal data probably exploited illegally, and an opaque purchasing entity.
FDJ United will have to carefully manage this crisis if it wants its dream of becoming a European champion not to turn into an institutional nightmare.