A Lotus on July 14 and a wide range of shaving games for the "Year 2" of Heritage Mission

Paris, February 28, 2019 (AFP) – Two games of scratch card and an exceptional Lotto draw on July 14: the FDJ will this year expand its offer of games to finance the restoration of French monuments.

The first edition of this operation, under the patronage of Stéphane Bern, was a great success, allowing the game operator to pay 22 million euros to the Heritage Foundation.

For "Year 2 of the Heritage Mission", 118 monuments in danger, including 18 "emblematic" monuments, should be designated soon. "Special attention will be given to projects in urban centers and urban centers," the Heritage Foundation announced in January. More than 3,000 sites were listed on the mission website, just hours before the deadline for nominations on Feb. 28, the Foundation said.

"The goal is to do better, or at least as good, as the 22 million euros," said FDJ CEO, AFP Stéphane Pallez. For this, "we chose to have two highlights, with different games for different customers," he summarizes.

While last year's launch of a scratch card game and the "Super Lotto" draw was focused around Heritage Days, the Lottery's outstanding draw will take place on July 14 to "make it a more important event," says Pallez . The jackpot remains unchanged at 13 million euros.

Last year, two million French people participated, for 14 million euros in bets, 30% more than in an average lottery draw.

Before the European Heritage Days, scheduled for 13 to 15 September, games of chance will be launched.

The game at 15 euros (for a gain of 1.5 million euros) – a big ticket with six of the 18 "emblematic monuments" – will be renewed. It will be accompanied this year with a range of twelve tickets, each presenting a monument, proposed at 3 euros each, for a possible gain of 30,000 euros.

Last year, the € 15 ticket was "a huge success", with 178 million euros betting on 2.8 million customers, "of which 200,000 were new players", says Stéphane Pallez.

"We believe we have potential for more customers, we want to try creating them by creating a family of legacy games, like we did for Astro or Crossword." We also hope to create a collection effect and that people buy multiple tickets, "explains the FDJ leader.

Last year, in addition to the 22 million euros of the FDJ, 21 million euros were paid by the state to offset the taxes charged on the games. "There was also about € 6 million of private funding raised in this context, which represents almost 50 million euros for equity," says Stéphane Pallez.

"Through these games, we give more visibility to the projects, it allows to have more private bosses, crowdfundings … This is an effect that we have seen in 2018: with this impulse of notoriety, people gave spontaneously to these monuments, the visits increased … It is a virtuous circle, "he says.

This funding system for heritage renovation could be a permanent part of the landscape, as it exists in other European countries. "The convention is scheduled for three years and, from the beginning, the goal is to become a success during these three years so that this game becomes sustainable," emphasizes Pallez.