A Toluna-Harris survey revealed that 41% of respondants who were intending to watch the World Cup would also place a bet during the tournament.
A recent survey conducted by Toluna-Harris Interactive among 1,071 French adults between 19 and 21 May 2026 revealed strong public enthusiasm for the upcoming Fifa World Cup and a notable increase in the willingness to engage in betting during the tournament.Â
On Thirsday, French regulator ANJ responded to the survey’s findings by launching a public awareness campaign to warn of potential gambling addiction risks associated with increased sports betting during the tournament.
High engagement levels with the World Cup
Within the survey 57% of respondents said they intended to follow the World Cup, a figure largely consistent with levels recorded before UEFA Euro 2024. Interest was considerably higher among men (71%) and younger adults, with 71% of those aged 18-24 and 69% of those aged 25-34 planning to follow the tournament.
Among those intending to watch, 51% said they anticipated placing “friendly” bets with family or friends, involving no monetary exchange. This is a stable trend compared to prior competitions.
Intentions to place real-money bets on match outcomes via mobile apps, websites, or physical outlets rose, with 41% of followers expressing this intention, surpassing figures recorded previously.
Men (49%) and younger adults under 35 (52% of 18-24; 54% of 25-34) are notably more inclined to bet money during the tournament. Those from higher socio-economic status groups are also more likely to bet (49%) compared to lower-status groups (35%).
Matches involving France and high-stakes fixtures remain the most popular for bets. A significant portion of respondents who have previously bet on major tournaments anticipate increasing their betting spend during the tournament, indicating potential revenue growth for operators.
Awareness of risksÂ
A substantial 83% of respondents agreed that sports betting carried addiction and dependence risks, including many prospective bettors. With reported harm, 19% of respondents said they knew someone who had lost control over their gambling. Among active sports bettors, 37% said they had felt a loss of control in the past year, with the figure rising sharply to 67% for those in the 18-24 age group.
About 73% of bettors said they recalled encountering standard gambling prevention messages, especially football fans.
In a survey conducted in May, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction estimated that, in 2024, approximately 1.17 million people in France exhibited problematic gambling behaviour, with roughly 360,000 classified as excessive players. Â
Advertising exposureÂ
A third (35%) of respondents to the survey recalled seeing sports betting adverts recently, with higher awareness among younger people and football followers. Television remains the dominant advertising medium, followed by the internet and social networks.
Strong majorities supported tighter controls with 77% backing a commitment by broadcasters and operators to ban betting adverts during three-minute mid-half breaks. And 82% of respondents were in favour of banning betting adverts on TV in the five minutes before kick-off, during games and the five minutes after the final whistle is blown.
World Cup-specific
ANJ indicated that the 2022 World Cup had generated more than €900 million in bets across online and retail platforms, and the final between France and Argentina had attracted nearly €54 million in online wagers in the market.
The regulator projects that wagers for the 2026 tournament could climb to approximately €1.2 billion, although the success of the French national team could heavily influence this figure.
ANJ’s innovative awareness campaign
Launching one week before the tournament starts, the ANJ has introduced a prevention campaign developed with creative agency LIBRE. The initiative transforms the traditional yellow legal banner used in gambling advertising into a striking “risk zone” visual.Â
In the ad, yellow caution tape frames a staged living-room installation in public spaces where actors reenact stages of gambling addiction – accumulating losses, attempting to recover bets, showing signs of agitation and withdrawal. This setup aims to make problem gambling signs more visible and relatable for the general public.
The campaign’s slogan “playing with excess means entering a risky zone” directs viewers to the website Evalujeu, which offers personalised assessments and support resources to evaluate gambling habits.
Isabelle Falque‑Pierrotin, ANJ president, said of the campaign: “With the approach of this World Cup, we are entering a risk zone with several warning signs for the regulator: a greater number of matches and therefore more advertising and betting opportunities and, at the same time, we are seeing an upward trend in the number of problem gamblers and their contribution to operators’ revenue.”
She added: “The study … highlights increased betting intentions, both in volume and value, as well as a very high level of vulnerability among young bettors. All these reasons justify the ANJ speaking out to raise awareness with its campaign.”
