French lottery and sports betting operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) is looking to slash its costs as the COVID-19 pandemic plays havoc with its revenue.

On Tuesday, FDJ announced that stakes over the first three months of 2020 totaled €4.1b, down 5.4% from the same period last year. Revenue fell only 0.9% to €516m, thanks mainly to the return to players dipping by nearly one point to 67.5%.

Lotteries remain FDJ’s bread-and-butter but sales fell 1.5% to €3.33b despite ‘strong momentum’ in its online lottery division. Sports betting took a much bigger hit, falling 18.1% to €766.5m, thanks to “the gradual drying up” of sports events that began in early March as the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt.

Until that point, FDJ said its activity was “in line with annual targets” thanks to betting activity rising 5% year-on-year. But the month following France’s imposition of pandemic ‘containment’ rules on March 12 has seen a €100m decline in turnover and €50m in lost earnings.