Key Moments:
- Gross gaming revenue (GGR) in France reached €5.66 billion in H1 2026, marking a 0.5% increase year on year
- Online gambling was the sole growth contributor, with online GGR up 11% to €1.45 billion
- FDJ United (FDJU) and PMU reported declines in their exclusive-rights segments, with GGR down 2% and 5.8% respectively
Limited Overall Market Expansion, Online Segment Shines
France’s regulated gambling industry posted slight growth in the first half of 2026. The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), France’s regulatory body, disclosed in its semi-annual report published on 15 October 2026 that gross gaming revenue rose to €5.66 billion, a modest increase of 0.5% from the previous year. This performance represented a sharp slowdown compared to the 4.1% growth recorded a year before. The figures exclude land-based casinos and gaming clubs, which are only reported annually.
Online gambling emerged as the only segment to achieve meaningful gains, contributing 2.5 percentage points to overall market growth. In contrast, the exclusive-rights divisions of FDJ United (FDJU) and PMU detracted from growth, subtracting 1.2 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively.
Across online channels, gross gaming revenue grew 11% to €1.45 billion, surpassing the 8.2% rate achieved in H1 2025. Online activities now constitute 25.6% of the regulated gambling market.
Performance by Segment
| Segment | GGR (€ million) | Year-on-Year Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| FDJ United (exclusive rights in France) | 3,429 | -2 |
| Online sports betting | 995 | +11.6 |
| PMU (exclusive rights) | 782 | -5.8 |
| Online poker | 290 | +13.4 |
| Online horse racing betting | 164 | +2.8 |
| Total* (excluding casinos and gaming clubs) | 5,660 | +0.5 |
*Source: ANJ
The total number of active player accounts in the three online verticals reached an all-time high of 5.85 million, an increase of 24%. The count of unique players rose 17% to 4.06 million. Notably, the average number of accounts per player climbed from 1.37 to 1.44, indicating a trend toward multi-operator participation.
June World Cup Spurs Surge in Sports Betting
Online sports betting experienced pronounced growth in June 2026 to coincide with the start of the FIFA World Cup. Betting stakes advanced 10.6% to €6.6 billion, while sports betting GGR improved by 11.6% to €995 million. The expansion was largely confined to June.
| Period | Stakes (% YOY) | Monthly Active Accounts (% YOY) | Acquisition Bonuses (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – May 2026 | +4% | +2% to +11% | -6% |
| June 2026 | +47% | +69% (3.1 million) | €9.0m (vs €2.4m in June 2025) |
Football bets increased 16% over the half-year, surging 116% in June alone. Tennis bets rose 2% between January and May but dropped 13.5% in June. Meanwhile, stakes per active account fell by 14%, with the average bet decreasing from €14.60 to €14.00.
Bonuses paid to sports bettors amounted to €129 million, a 35% rise that represented 12.9% of the segment’s GGR, compared to 10.7% a year before. A single month, June, contributed €35.5 million in bonuses, compared to €14.5 million in June 2025. Altogether, bonuses in the online market totaled €199 million, growing 28%, which was 2.5 times faster than online GGR growth. Bonuses now account for 13.8% of total online GGR, up from 11.9%.
The ANJ said (translated from French):
‘The activity of these players in the second half will show whether the World Cup has lastingly widened the pool of bettors.’
Three days before publishing its main report, the ANJ also noted in a separate communication that niche football leagues had been associated with excessive bettor behavior in 2025 online sports betting.
Poker and Horse Racing Display Steady Growth
Online poker’s gross gaming revenue climbed 13.4% to €290 million, recovering from a nearly flat performance in H1 2025. Sit & Go tournaments accounted for 70% of this amount, with €202 million generated. The number of active poker accounts surged 38.5% to 2.3 million, while average GGR per account declined 18% from €153 to €126. Poker participation now represents 44% of all unique online players, up from 38% previously.
In online horse racing, stakes increased 15.8% to €920 million, the segment’s strongest showing since 2021, though growth did not peak in June as seen in sports betting. GGR for this vertical rose 2.8% to €164 million. However, unique players grew by just 3.2%, suggesting that increased activity per player was behind the higher stakes.
- Author
Daniel Williams
