Sports betting in France grew 24% as €5bn (£4.2bn/$5.4bn) was wagered on sports in the country during the first half of 2024, according to new data from the l'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ).
France took €5.2bn in bets during H1, marking a 24% year-on-year increase, while gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose by 16% when compared to the same period of 2023, reaching €871m.
Online continues to flourish in France, with the online market up 10% year-on-year over H1 and accounting for over €1.3bn in GGR. Online active player accounts (APAs) were up 13% compared to H1 2023, powered by a particularly strong month of June, which included the early stages of Euro 2024. There were over two million APAs in June, up from 1.25 million in the same month last year.
Despite growth across active players and the increased betting amount in the period, the amount bet on the Euros fell short of the ANJ’s €1bn expectations, coming in at €650m. In France, the 2022 tournament generated €900m in total stakes.
The drop was attributed to to an underwhelming performance from the French national team, as well as the French general election which captured the country’s attention throughout the month of June.
In anticipation of the increased interest, the ANJ established a new problem gambling prevention campaign in June to help raise awareness of the risks of excessive betting throughout the Euros.
The regulator had also called for “moderation” in gambling marketing around the tournament and noted that operators had respected its wishes.
Olympics could produce €240m in wagers
With Paris hosting the current Olympic Games, the ANJ is expecting up to €240m to be wagered, an uptick of 100% from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. A recent Toluna-Harris Interactive survey estimated 59% of French people will follow the event, with around a quarter of those planning to bet on it.
Up to 74% of that figure highlighted Paris hosting the Games as a key reason to bet. Players can bet on over 80% of the Olympic events.
Threat of the illegal market
According to the ANJ, France is the first host country to develop a national platform to counter sports manipulation.
The threat of criminality recently came to light during Euro 2024, with French online gaming association l’Association Française des Jeux en Ligne (AFJEL) warning the illegal market was now outpacing the legal one.
AFJEL claimed four million players bet through illegal sites in France during 2023, compared to 3.6 million via regulated sites.
AFJEL also noted that around half of the ANJ’s €1bn prediction was wagered on the Euro 2024, while stakes were also 25% down on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
