The 3% increase in GGR, up from \u20ac13.7 billion in 2024, places France\u2019s gambling market growth broadly in line with other major European markets. It trails behind the UK\u2019s 4.3% expansion but outperforms Italy\u2019s 1.9% growth.<\/p>\n
Online gambling demonstrated robust momentum, with GGR from competitive online gambling jumping 8.5% to \u20ac2.617 billion. This now accounts for 18.5% of the total market, up from 16.4% in 2023. The online sector comprises three key segments, sports betting, horse racing betting and poker, all of which recorded revenue increases.<\/p>\n
This expansion comes as France broadens its regulatory scope to cover emerging digital formats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The recently operationalised Jeux \u00e0 Objets Num\u00e9riques Mon\u00e9tisables (JONUM) regime introduces oversight for monetisable digital games<\/a> that incorporate gambling-like mechanics, such as tradeable in-game items. While not formally classified as gambling, these products are now subject to tailored regulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Player participation also increased. Unique online players rose by 7.5% to 4.2 million, while active player accounts grew 7.1% to 6.1 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Notably, multi-activity players \u2013 those engaged in more than one segment \u2013 surged by 25%, signalling diversification in user behaviour.<\/p>\n Sector by sector<\/p>\n The sports betting sector led online growth with GGR of \u20ac1.766 billion, marking a 10.4% rise. Stakes increased 12% to \u20ac11.517 billion. Sports betting now represents approximately 68% of the online GGR, up six percentage points over two years.<\/p>\n Football and tennis were key contributors, accounting for 49% and 30% of the increase in stakes respectively.<\/p>\n The number of active sports betting accounts reached 5.3 million (+7.9%), with unique sports bettors at 3.6 million (+8.6%).<\/p>\n Horse racing GGR increased 2.4% to \u20ac326 million. Active accounts and unique players grew by 8.1% and 8.4% respectively to 718,000 and 604,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Poker revenue rose 6.5% to \u20ac525 million, driven entirely by tournament play. The poker player base grew significantly, with active accounts up 16.5% to 2.5 million and unique players increasing 15.1% to 1.9 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n FDJ United, operator of the state lottery and retail sports betting monopoly, generated GGR of \u20ac6.95 billion (+2.8%), representing nearly half (49.2%) of the total market.\u00a0<\/p>\n The French lottery was a major driver of growth, while European online operations (notably in the UK and the Netherlands) declined by 8%.<\/p>\n Casinos posted a 3.4% increase in GGR to \u20ac2.816 billion, with admissions rising 2% to 31.6 million visits. Slot machines remained dominant, contributing about 82% of casino GGR, while traditional table games and poker\/blackjack segments remained stable. Groups controlled approximately 93% of casino revenues.<\/p>\n Looking into the future<\/p>\n On a global scale, France ranks seventh worldwide and third in Europe by GGR, trailing Italy and the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite this growth, the ANJ has warned that further efforts are needed to reduce problem gambling levels by 2027<\/a>. This is according to a review published by the ANJ<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n It highlighted concerns that increased participation, particularly in online segments, could heighten exposure to gambling-related harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n The French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction estimated in 2024 that approximately 1.17 million people in France exhibit problematic gambling behaviour, with roughly 360,000 classified as excessive players.\u00a0<\/p>\n The regulator has emphasised the need for operators to strengthen player protection measures, including improved monitoring of risky behaviour and more effective intervention tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n The regulator identified several key factors to watch in 2026 which included the full-year effects of new fiscal policies and the impact of major sporting events, notably the 2026 Fifa World Cup, on betting volumes.<\/p>\n \u201c2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the entire gambling market. Whether it\u2019s consolidating acquisitions, quickly reversing a growing decline, or facing increased competition on the eve of the Fifa World Cup, all indicators are flashing red for the regulator,\u201d said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the ANJ.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this tense context, compounded by the emergence of new forms of betting, it is essential to continue the anticipated shift towards a less intensive gambling model and to propose adjustments to the current regulatory framework to reduce the perceived risk of gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan \u2013 long before Hollywood came calling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The increase was mainly fuelled by online betting, the state lottery and a rebound in casino activity. France\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5773,5,5774,5775,1584,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-6920","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-anj","9":"tag-france","10":"tag-online-gambling","11":"tag-poker","12":"tag-sports-betting","13":"tag-world-cup-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kathryn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bG9jYWw6Ly8vaWdhbWluZ2J1c2luZXNzLmNvbS93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAyNi8wMy9rYXRocnluLWV2YW5zLXByb2Zp.webp\")
<\/a>Kathryn Evans<\/a><\/p>\n