In 2025, online sports betting in France saw significant growth, with an increase in both stakes and gross gaming revenue (GGR) despite a sports calendar lacking in major events. According to l'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), this upward trend was fueled by a robust football schedule as well as a rise in the popularity of niche games.
The licensed betting market expanded, with active accounts increasing by 7.9% to 5.27 million, and unique players seeing an 8.6% boost to 3.65 million. The average annual stake for bettors grew to €3,159 ($3,533), indicating a 25% rise since 2020. Betting operators disbursed €180 million in financial incentives, mainly focused on retention bonuses, throughout the year.
ANJ has raised concerns regarding player protection, particularly among high-risk bettors. Utilizing its risk classification algorithm, players are divided into four categories: recreational, moderate risk, excessive, and manifestly excessive. The regulator found that excessive bettors concentrated a disproportionate amount of their stakes on niche competitions and live markets.
Data from early 2026 suggested that over 80% of stakes from excessive or manifestly excessive players were on leagues in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia, which typically attract less casual interest. Additionally, 80% to 89% of stakes on specific match outcomes—like half-time results and tennis set bets—came from excessive bettors.
While ANJ clarified that these betting patterns do not necessarily indicate a higher addiction risk, they may imply a lack of casual bettors. To address this, ANJ proposed enhanced player safety measures regarding the types of competitions and betting options allowed.
In 2024, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction estimated around 1.17 million people in France exhibited problematic gambling behaviors, with approximately 360,000 identified as excessive players.
Continuing the trend, ANJ reported that stakes with licensed operators rose by 12% to €11.52 billion, and GGR increased by 10.4% year-on-year to reach €1.766 billion. This continued recovery occurred despite the absence of prominent events such as the European Championship. Football dominated the market, accounting for 54.9% (€6.32 billion) of all stakes and driving nearly half of the total growth in betting volumes, with football bets contributing to about two-thirds of the total GGR.
While football betting grew by 10.2%, this figure may underrepresent the sport's actual momentum, as 2024 included the European Championship, which generated €438 million in bets. Adjusting for this, the growth in football stakes for 2025 is estimated to be between 10% and 19%.
Tennis also played a significant role in this growth, making up 23% of overall stakes (€2.65 billion) and experiencing a 16% year-on-year increase despite a lack of standout tennis events in 2025.
The surge in football’s popularity can be attributed to the increased number of matches available for betting, particularly following a format change in the UEFA Champions League, leading to an increase from 137 to 189 matches—a 38% rise that resulted in a 48.6% increase in stakes.
About 75% of this stakes increase resulted from the greater number of matches rather than a rise in the average bet size. The inaugural edition of the enhanced Club World Cup also attracted significant betting, with an average of around €3.9 million per match, close to the Champions League's €4.4 million per match average.
Interest in betting for the upcoming FIFA World Cup surged this year. A survey by Toluna-Harris Interactive of 1,071 French adults conducted between May 19 and May 21, 2026, revealed enthusiasm for the World Cup, with 41% of participants indicating intentions to place real-money bets on match outcomes through mobile apps or physical venues.
Live betting constituted a substantial share, particularly for lesser-known competitions. It represented about 26% of stakes for the UEFA Champions League and 30% to 35% for major domestic leagues, increasing to approximately 48% for secondary competitions and 50% to 58% for European second divisions and unlisted leagues. This trend was partly due to the worldwide scheduling of football, allowing for near-continuous live betting opportunities.
Under current regulations in France, online sports betting operators are capped at a return to player (RTP) rate of 85% annually. The market averaged an RTP of 84.67% in 2025. ANJ reported that favorable outcomes in September temporarily spiked the monthly payout rate to 94.5%, exceeding the annual cap. However, subsequent reductions in October and November brought the cumulative RTP back under the limit, indicating adjustment of odds by operators to comply with regulations.
