France’s €11.5bn sports betting market draws ANJ scrutiny

France’s online sports betting stakes reached €11.517bn in 2025. This is up 12%. Regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) highlighted concerns about the relationship between betting products and excessive gambling.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR), the amount retained after winnings, increased 10.4% to €1.766bn. The figures cover online sports betting rather than France’s entire betting market.

The annual totals were published in April. However, a new analysis released on 12 October examines what drove that growth and identifies betting markets heavily dependent on players flagged for excessive gambling.

More football fixtures fuel betting growth

Football accounted for 54.9% of stakes. Betting volumes increased 10.2%. Tennis represented 23% of stakes and grew 16%.

The expanded Champions League helped increase betting opportunities. The number of matches rose from 137 in 2024 to 189 in 2025, while stakes increased 48.6%.  ANJ attributed around three-quarters of that increase to the additional fixtures.

The regulator’s analysis suggests that expanding popular competitions can generate additional betting demand, even without a European Championship or World Cup.

"The growth of sports betting is focused on June, the month the Football World Cup starts." [La croissance du pari sportif se concentre sur juin, mois du début de la Coupe du Monde de football]." - ANJ 

France’s wider regulated gambling market grew more slowly, with total GGR increasing 3% to €14.1bn. Online sports betting generated approximately two-thirds of online gambling GGR.

Active sports betting accounts increased 7.9% to 5.267 million. These are accounts, rather than individual customers, who may use several operators. Average annual stakes per active account rose 3.8% to €2,186, indicating growth involved both more accounts and higher spending per account.

In-play markets raise protection concerns

Using betting data from 2026, ANJ found that players its algorithm classified as excessive or manifestly excessive accounted for 80%–89% of stakes on certain period-result bets, depending on the sport.

These include bets on halves, quarters, sets or games, which lend themselves to in-play betting.

However, ANJ cautioned against interpreting high concentrations of flagged players on lesser-known competitions as proof that those competitions are inherently more addictive. Lower participation by recreational customers may help explain the pattern.

Could France change its betting rules?

French rules already limit betting to competitions and result types authorised by ANJ, following consultation with the relevant sporting federation. It is the regulator that oversees which sporting outcomes licensed bookmakers can offer.

ANJ suggested its findings could support incorporating player protection into the rules governing authorised betting markets. Its October publication did not announce an immediate ban.

The potential commercial implication for operators is closer scrutiny of how particular products generate revenue. Market growth alone offers an incomplete picture when some betting categories depend heavily on customers displaying signs of excessive gambling.