FDJ United retains its position as the leading gambling operator in France, according to the latest figures published by the country’s gaming regulator.
However, while the French gambling market continues to grow at pace, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) is also becoming increasingly vocal about what it believes are risky and often aggressive commercial practices by operators, which continue to be reviewed.
Who runs the show?
FDJ United, France’s state-backed gaming and national lottery operator which recently underwent a rebrand from its long-held identity of Française des Jeux (FDJ), remains the market leader in French gambling.
The Paris EuroNext giant retains market share of 50%, despite its recent financial reports showing some struggles for the group, particularly on the sports betting side of things. According to ANJ’s latest figures, however, the firm’s GGR has exceeded €7bn for the first time, up 6% against 2023 trading, with lottery revenue the key growth driver, up 5% to €5.8bn.
In contrast,Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), which operates horse racing betting. The group is described as a ‘declining monopoly’ by ANJ in its latest report, though the regulator has noted a growing pool of players.
PMU’s GR dropped slightly by 2% to €1.7bn, with stakes standing at €6.6bn and net profit also down slightly from €835m to €837m. Although PMU’s market share is down to 12%, ANJ suggests there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the firm due to its player pool being up 8% to 3.5 million.
Lastly, the French casino sector saw a slight increase in gross sales of 1.2% to €2.7bn with admissions staying stable at 31 million. Publication of this figure comes at an interesting time for French gambling as the government weighs up the prospect of regulating the online casino space, a prospect which is set to be subject to a six-month consultation this year with the aim of regulating online casinos in 2026.
Risky practices in French sports betting?
Aside from offering insights into French gambling market leadership, ANJ stated that 2025 is ‘shaping up to be a risky year’ due to a combination of industry practices. The most prominent of these is advertising, with the regulator noting that French gambling companies’ promotional budgets rose by nearly 11% year-over year.
A perceived proliferation of cross-selling between betting, casino and lottery products has also been cited – mirroring developments across the English Channel where the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has introduced new rules around cross-promotion of betting and gaming products.
Over in France, ANJ is concerned that ‘renewed competitive tensions’ between the French gambling sector’s biggest players, in its words, will make risky practices even more risky, particularly as customer demand increases.
As in other markets, 2024 was a good year for sports betting in France. This vertical enjoyed considerable growth in 2024 and stands out as the second leading growth driver for the entirety of the French gambling sector.
Online sports betting GGR rose 19% to €1.8bn (2023: €1.5bn) and now accounts for 12% of total French gambling market and 43% of total market growth. Online horse racing betting rose only marginally by 1%, while the UEFA European Championship and Paris Olympics drove a lot of engagement with sports betting.
Football saw €5.6bn in total bets, tennis €2.3bn, basketball €914m and rugby €186m. Other popular sports included volleyball, ice hockey, badminton, handball and cycling, which saw 31% growth in stakes between 2023 and 2024.
Tax Burdens come into play
Beginning 1 July, the French government will implement a revised tax regime for gambling activities, increasing the levy on sports betting from 10.6% to 15% of gross gaming revenue (GGR). Poker will be subject to a new flat-rate tax of 10% on GGR, replacing the previous 0.2% charge based on stakes.
FDJ lottery services, will also see its tax burden rise, with the contribution on traditional draw games increasing to 7.2%.
The strictest measure the country has introduced in this regard was a 15% levy on French gambling media spend in the 2025 budget. It seems that the ANJ remains aware of how significant sports sponsorships can be for French football clubs, but is also beginning to share its European counterparts’ apprehension around the extent of betting’s visibility.