Sports betting lifts French market to €5.7bn in H1 2025
France’s gambling regulator has reported a fresh surge in online betting and lottery activity in the first half of 2025, with sports wagers once again driving growth while poker revenues slipped and horse-racing stalled. The latest semi-annual review from the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) shows the sector reaching levels described as “absolutely unprecedented,” despite the absence of the major sporting fixtures that had boosted figures in 2024. France is regarded as one of the world’s ten largest gambling markets, and the latest figures confirm its position among the global industry’s heavyweight jurisdictions.
Sports betting continues to carry the market
The ANJ notes that “the gambling marke confirms its dynamism, reaching a level of activity absolutely unprecedented” with gross gaming revenue (GGR) “progressing by 3.5% compared with the first half of 2024 to reach €5.7bn”. The rise comes largely from the digital side of the market, where sports wagers alone accounted for €961 million of GGR during the period.
The regulator describes online sports betting as the sector’s locomotive, stating that “all the indicators of sports betting are in strong progression despite the absence of sporting events as major as in 2024”. According to the report, stakes “progress by 15% in the first half of 2025 compared with the first half of 2024, reaching €6bn” while “the GGR progresses by 10% to €961m”.
Player activity is also accelerating. The ANJ reports that the number of active online betting accounts “progresses by 11% (4.1 million in the first half of 2025) against 10% for unique players (3 million in the first half of 2025)”.
Tennis wagers rose sharply during the semester, linked to the Paris Grand Slam. As the regulator notes, “the part of tennis progresses in the total of stakes, just as the volume of stakes in tennis (+22% in the first half of 2025)” driven by “Roland Garros (+46% and +51% of stakes in May and June between 2024 and 2025)”.
Lottery surges as FDJ United expands, poker falls behind
Beyond sports betting, lottery operations under FDJ United also strengthened. The report highlights that, following the acquisition of Kindred, “the GGR total of the group in the first half of 2025 is in increase of 19% compared with the first half of 2024”, reaching nearly €4.4bn. The regulator adds that “at constant scope, the GGR of the group is in progression of 1.6% (4.4bn€) whereas turnover is in decline of 1.7% to 1.9bn€”.
The growth is particularly marked in exclusive rights games in France, where “the segment ‘lottery and sports betting in the physical network France’ is in growth of 4.4% in the first half of 2025, with a particular dynamism of draw games (+8.8%)”. Long jackpot cycles in Euromillions were cited as a key driver.
By contrast, poker slipped backwards. The ANJ notes that “the GGR of poker is 246m€ in the first half of 2025, a decrease of -4% compared with the same period in 2024”, even though participation continues to rise. The regulator explains that operators “recruit players but do not manage to monetise them,” pointing to a lower spend per account. The steepest drop occurred in cash games, whose GGR “declines sharply (-15%)”.
Horse racing showed a similarly subdued picture. The report states that “stakes of horse racing betting progress of 1% to 795m€” but that “the GGR remains stable at 174m€”.
The PMU’s exclusive retail offering continued to shrink: “the GGR of the PMU under exclusive rights reaches 830m€ in the first half against 853m€ last year (-2.6%)” while “stakes contract by -4.2%”.
The ANJ cautions that the second half of 2025 could hinge on operator strategy and new regulatory pressures. The 2024 report signals uncertainty ahead, observing that growth “could continue in the second half if newly recruited players are retained and recruitment continues, subject to the incidence — difficult to assess — of the increase in taxation intervened on 1 July”.
All roads lead to the mother of all conferences in Rome, 03–06 November 2025. SiGMA Central Europe takes centre stage at Fiera Roma, uniting 30,000 delegates, 1,000+ exhibitors, and 550+ expert speakers. This is where legacies are built, and the future takes shape. Connect with the innovators’ driving change.
