French gambling revenue up 6.9% in first half

However, online gambling revenue saw a double-digit fall.

France.- The first full half of relatively normal trading following the Covid-19 pandemic saw a change in fortunes for the gambling sector in France. Overall gambling revenue was up by 6.9 per cent for January to June thanks to the full opening of land-based offers, but online gambling revenue fell by 11.2 per cent.

Figures from the French gambling regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) show total revenue of €5.26bn, an increase from €4.92bn in the first half of 2021. Française Des Jeux (FDJ) retained its place as the leading operator, generating €3.22bn in revenue, an increase of 12.4 per cent year-on-year.

Spending with FDJ was up by 9.9 per cent to €10bn. The operator’s lottery revenue was up 16 per cent to €2.73bn, but sports betting fell 4.5 per cent to €485m.

Next up, the horseracing betting operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) saw gross gambling revenue of €969m, an increase of 14.5 per cent year-on-year and close to pre-pandemic levels. Stakes were up by 18 per cent at €3.9bn thanks to the full opening of retail venues.

It was a different story for online gambling, where revenue dropped 11.2 per cent to €1.07bn. Online sports betting revenue was down 11.8 per cent at €685m from stakes of €4bn (down 8.3 per cent). The drop will partly be due to the presence of Euro 2020 in the same half in 2021.

Online horseracing betting revenue was down 17.6% at €169m from stakes of €727m (down 17.5 per cent), likely because of the reopening of physical betting locations. Finally, online poker revenue came in at €216m. That was a drop of 3.1 per cent but is still higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last month, the ANJ made changes to its nine-member board. Isabelle Falque Pierrotin will remain president but three members have been replaced. Board members Éliane Houlette, Mario Blaise and Wilfried Sand-Zantman have chosen not to continue on the board. They have been replaced by Thomas de Ricolfis, Jean-Pierre Couteron and Isabelle Bordry.

Meanwhile, Group FDJ, owner of the lottery and betting operator Française des Jeux (FDJ), has launched its Nirio payments service with the Confederation of Tobacconists. The service allows customers to pay bills and rent via bars, tobacconists and newsagents. FDJ says it will be France’s leading local payments service.

Some 10,000 FDJ partner merchants will offer the service to customers, with 5,000 having already been approved by the financial watchdog Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR).