France’s regulated gambling market grew by just 0.5% in the first half of 2026, with online betting’s World Cup-driven surge the only factor preventing the market from stalling entirely. Figures published by regulator L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) show total gross gaming revenue reached €5.66 billion, a sharp deceleration from the 4.1% growth recorded a year earlier. The data lays bare a widening gap between France’s licensed online operators and the exclusive-rights incumbents FDJ United and PMU.
What happened
The total gross gaming revenue, excluding casinos and clubs, remained mostly stable at EUR 5.66 billion ($6.36 billion), up 0.5% year-on-year, highlighting a slowdown in the growth of gaming.
Online gambling was the only market contributor to grow during H1, with GGR for the segment increasing 11% to €1.45bn, representing 25.6% of the entire French market, up 2.4 percentage points year-on-year.
Online sports betting GGR wasn’t far behind at €995m and 11.6% more year-on-year, with stakes in June skyrocketing by 47% compared with the modest 4% growth for the January-May period, taking total stakes for the reporting period to €6.6bn.
The spike coincided with the opening of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Online poker GGR climbed 13.4% to €290m, with active player accounts 38.5% higher at 2.3 million, although GGR per active account fell 18%.
Online horse racing GGR edged up 2.8% to €164m with stakes rising 15.8% to €920m.
The exclusive-rights operators told a different story.
PMU’s exclusive-rights activities declined for a third consecutive year, with stakes falling 3.8% to €3.1 billion and gross gaming revenue falling 5.8% to €782 million, a rate of decline that accelerated from the 2.6% recorded in the first half of 2025.
FDJ United’s draw games fell 7.6%, a drop the operator attributed to fewer and lower EuroMillions jackpots and to reduced footfall at points of sale linked to heatwave episodes, though excluding long EuroMillions cycles, lottery gross gaming revenue rose 1%.
The regulator said full-year market development will depend in part on FDJ United, which represents 61% of gross gaming revenue excluding casinos and clubs, with the operator targeting stable gross gaming revenue for its France retail network activities over 2026.
Player rewards also increased significantly during H1, rising 28% to €199m, representing 13.8% of online GGR, up from 11.9% a year earlier, with sports betting accounting for €129m of the total, up 35%.
Why it matters
The ANJ figures confirm that France’s licensed online betting sector is now the primary growth engine for a market that is otherwise stagnating. For operators, that concentrates commercial pressure on acquiring and retaining the new wave of sports bettors drawn in by the World Cup.
The ANJ reported that there were 69 per cent more active player accounts between June 2025 and June 2026.
This led to a record 5.85 million active player accounts being recorded across H1, up 24 per cent year-on-year.
The sharp rise in acquisition spend accompanying the tournament is notable for affiliates and performance marketers active in the French market.
Active accounts rose 69% year-on-year in June, coinciding with acquisition bonuses that were nearly four times higher than in June 2025.
That scale of promotional spend typically signals heightened competition for search visibility and paid traffic around major sporting events, and it raises the stakes on retention: operators that paid heavily to win World Cup bettors now need those customers to remain active through the back half of the year to justify the outlay.
The weakness at FDJ United and PMU also matters beyond France’s borders, given both groups’ scale and brand reach. A prolonged decline in their exclusive-rights businesses could push both operators to lean further on their online arms and international operations to offset domestic softness, with knock-on implications for how they prioritise marketing budgets and partner relationships across markets.
The bigger picture
The 0.5% rise in gross gaming revenue, tracked by the regulator as the produit brut des jeux, compares with growth of 4.1% recorded a year earlier.
That slowdown fits a broader pattern across mature European markets, where incumbent lottery and retail betting operators are facing structural headwinds from shifting player preferences toward online channels, even as regulators tighten oversight of advertising and player protection. France has also recently increased gaming taxes, a factor FDJ United itself has flagged as weighing on its results this year.
The ANJ’s own framing suggests the second half of the year will be a real test of whether the World Cup bump in France produces lasting market growth or simply a temporary spike.
The regulator said annual market growth will depend partly on whether newly acquired players remain active after the FIFA World Cup.
For operators and their marketing partners, that question will shape budget decisions well into 2027.
For more coverage of European regulatory and market developments, visit our industry news section.
Sources
- GamblingNews – France’s Online Gaming Growth Was Offset by Suboptimal Performance by FDJ and PMU
- SBC News – World Cup betting rush masks French market slowdown
- Next.io – H1 2026: French gambling growth slows to 0.5% despite online surge
- InterGame Online – French GGR growth slows despite online gaming uplift
Leave a Reply