France’s betting market barely grows despite World Cup

• Online GGR rises 11% to €1.45bn as the wider market grows just 0.5%.
• Active online player accounts reach a record 5.85 million in the first half.
• For certain competitions in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia, players classified as excessive or manifestly excessive accounted for more than 80% of stakes.

France’s gambling market barely grew in the first half of 2026, and online gambling was the only segment that contributed. The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) reported on 15 October that gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 0.5% to €5.66bn, with World Cup betting driving the online gains. The total excludes casinos and gaming clubs, whose results are reported annually.

Online carries the market

The online segment added about 2.5 percentage points to growth, according to the ANJ’s half-year report. FDJ United took away about 1.2 points and PMU about 0.8 points, which left the market just 0.5% higher.

Online GGR reached €1.45bn, up 11% year on year. The segment now represents 25.6% of the market outside casinos and gaming clubs.

The wider market slowed sharply. In the first half of 2025, it grew 4.1%.

Licensed online operators recorded 5.85 million active player accounts, up 24%. The ANJ described this as an unprecedented player base. Unique players rose 17% to 4.06 million.

Sports betting remained the main engine. Online sports betting GGR rose 11.6% to €995m, and stakes grew 10.6% to €6.6bn.

World Cup lifts June

Most of that growth came in a single month. Stakes rose about 4% from January to May, then jumped 47% year on year in June, when the World Cup kicked off.

The tournament also brought in new customers. Monthly active sports betting accounts in June were 69% higher than in June 2025, at 3.1 million. The spike reflects the record €1.3bn staked by French bettors on the tournament.

Operators paid for that growth. Acquisition bonuses in June were nearly four times June 2025 levels, at €9.0m against €2.4m. Over the half, stakes per sports betting account fell 14%.

The spending had been planned well in advance. In February, the ANJ said operators’ announced 2026 promotional budgets were more than 25% higher than the previous year, at an intended €785m. It asked them not to exceed those budgets.

Beyond the sportsbook

Online poker GGR rose 13.4% to €290m. Sit&Go formats drove the increase and now generate 70% of the segment’s GGR. Poker active accounts grew 39%.

Online horse racing stakes climbed 16% to €920m, their strongest growth since 2021. GGR grew more slowly, rising 2.8% to €164m.

Racing player numbers rose only 3%, so the higher stakes came mainly from more activity per player. Unlike sports betting, racing showed no June spike.

Monopolies lose ground

FDJ United’s French exclusive-rights GGR fell 2% to €3.43bn. Lottery accounted for most of the decline, with draw games down 7.6%.

PMU’s exclusive-rights activities declined for a third consecutive year. Stakes fell 3.8% to €3.1bn, and GGR dropped 5.8% to €782m.

The ANJ said full-year performance will depend partly on FDJ United, which generates 61% of GGR outside casinos and gaming clubs. FDJ United has said it is targeting stable GGR from its French network in 2026.

Online growth faces a different test. The regulator said annual growth will depend on whether players recruited during the World Cup stay active after the tournament.

More fixtures, more stakes

The half-year report followed a separate ANJ note on the 2025 sports betting market, published on 12 October. Online stakes rose 12% to €11.52bn. GGR grew 10.4% to €1.77bn, despite a calendar with no major international tournament.

Football accounted for 54.9% of stakes, or €6.32bn. Tennis took 23%, or €2.65bn, and grew 16% with no exceptional event to drive it.

The expanded UEFA Champions League went from 137 to 189 matches, and stakes on it rose 48.6%. The ANJ attributed three-quarters of that increase to the additional fixtures. The Europa League and Conference League went through the same format change, but their stakes grew only slightly.

Each sport’s market is structured differently. The NBA accounts for 54% of basketball stakes. In football, it takes 35 competitions to reach 90% of stakes, out of 103 open to betting.

Pricing is tightly managed. Operators’ return to player (RTP) is capped at an annual average of 85%, and it stood at 84.67% in 2025.

Niche leagues raise flags

The regulator’s detection algorithm sorts players into four profiles: recreational, moderate risk, excessive and manifestly excessive.

In first-half 2026 football stakes, the share coming from the two highest-risk groups rose as the profile of the competition fell. On leagues in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia, these players accounted for more than 80% of stakes.

The ANJ stressed that this does not show those competitions are inherently more addictive. The leagues make up only a small share of these players’ total stakes. The pattern likely reflects weak interest from recreational bettors.

Bet types showed the same pattern. In the second quarter of 2026, excessive players placed 80% to 89% of stakes on the outcome of a single period of play, such as a half or a set, depending on the sport. Tournament-winner markets had the highest share of recreational stakes.

Live betting follows the same gradient. It accounts for 26% of Champions League stakes and 30% to 35% on major leagues. On secondary competitions the share rises to 48%, and it reaches 50% to 58% on European second divisions and unlisted leagues.

Betting menu under review

The global fixture list lets operators offer football almost around the clock. South American leagues cover the French night, and Asian and Oceanian fixtures fill the mornings.

The ANJ sets the list of competitions and bet types open to betting through formal regulatory decisions. Its note said the findings could eventually support building player protection into the rules on authorised bet types.

That would extend a tougher stance. The ANJ’s sanctions committee has issued a €500,000 duty-of-care fine, and the regulator has pressed operators for more concrete outcomes from their problem gambling plans.

Any move to trim the list of approved markets would reach beyond operators’ trading desks. Data and odds suppliers built around secondary leagues and in-play depth would feel it too.

The timing would also make retention harder. Operators would face a narrower product range just as they try to keep the players they acquired during the World Cup.