Gambling in France: another record year for revenue
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) was up by 4.7 per cent year-on-year.
France.- The French gambling regulator, L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has published its annual market review with figures from 2024. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) was up by 4.7 per cent year-on-year to set a new record of €14bn, up from €12.9bn in 2022 and €13.4bn in 2023.
Online GGR accounted for 18.6 per cent of that at €2.6bn rising 12 per cent year-on-year. Online sports betting revenue rose by 19 per cent to €1.8bn.
The ANJ highlighted a rise in women sports bettors, up by 14.5 per cent year-on-year to half a million participants. It suggested that this was partly due to more visible women’s sports events. The 25 to 34 age group was the largest cohort among women bettors, followed by those aged 18 to 24.
Overall, active player account numbers in France were up by 11 per cent at 5.7m: sports betting rising by 13 per cent, poker by 11 per cent and horse racing betting by 4 per cent.
Despite fewer major sports events in 2025, the ANJ warned that this year could see a rise of risky play due to higher advertising budgets. Operators must submit their plans for promotional spending to the ANJ for approval each year. Early in the year, the regulator encouraged operators to reduce their planned spending after their proposals showed an average raise of 11 per cent.
However, operators may also be concerned about the impact of the the rise in French gambling tax. Online sports betting tax is to rise from 10.6 to 15 per cent and land-based sports betting tax from 6.6 to 7.6 per cent. French casinos will see tax rise from 55 to close to 60 per cent. Online casino gambling remains unregulated.
The ANJ said: “It will be important to assess whether the new 15 per cent tax on commercial communication expenditures for online sports betting operators will influence actual investment levels in the latter half of the year.”
