France’s playing business recorded €6.4 billion in gross gaming income (GGR) in the course of the first six months of 2024, marking an 8% enhance year-on-year. The knowledge, launched by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), displays strong efficiency throughout all three main regulatory segments: lottery video games, on-line playing, and land-based casinos.
Among these sectors, on-line sports activities betting was a standout, persevering with the upward pattern from earlier years. However, the primary half additionally noticed lottery and poker contribute considerably to the market’s general efficiency. The business continues to indicate resilience and flexibility, buoyed by constant on-line engagement and robust participant participation.
Lottery Games Lead in Revenue, But Sports Betting Surges in Activity
Lotteries remained the first income generator, delivering €3.3 billion in GGR—an 1.8% rise in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months. Of this, draw-based video games contributed €2 billion and on the spot video games €1.3 billion. While this represents a modest enhance in income, the section nonetheless accounted for over half of complete GGR.
Meanwhile, on-line sports activities betting posted essentially the most notable development in each stakes and income. Stakes climbed to €5.1 billion, a 17.5% enhance, whereas GGR rose 14.3% to achieve €658 million. This efficiency was pushed in half by the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches, with soccer accounting for 56% of bets positioned.
“Football remains the dominant sport, followed by tennis and basketball,” the ANJ famous. Tennis stakes remained steady at 21% of all bets, whereas basketball held 7%. In addition to stake development, participant numbers rose 4% to three.5 million lively accounts per quarter on common.
Poker and Horse Racing See Varied Results
Online poker reported blended outcomes. Although the variety of lively gamers dropped by 2.2%, totaling round 950,000 accounts per quarter, the vertical managed to put up a 2.9% GGR enhance, reaching €220 million. The rise in match income (+5.5%) offset a 2.6% dip in money sport GGR. Despite a slight decline in participation, participant engagement remained excessive.
Horse racing, regulated by the identical oversight framework, skilled a reversal of its prior decline. Stakes grew by 3.7% to €583 million, whereas GGR noticed a marginal 1.5% increase to €138 million. The variety of lively participant accounts additionally elevated to 587,000—an enchancment over 2023 ranges.
Casino Sector Rebounds With Consistent Performance
France’s 203 land-based casinos delivered regular returns, reporting €1.2 billion in GGR in the primary half of the 12 months. This marked a ten.4% year-on-year development, largely attributed to a normalization of customer flows post-COVID and continued curiosity in slot machines, which stay the dominant income supply. Table video games additionally maintained a strong presence, contributing 9% of on line casino GGR.
ANJ Reinforces Commitment to Responsible Gambling
In parallel with this market development, the ANJ reiterated its dedication to selling safer playing environments. The regulator emphasised the significance of monitoring participant conduct throughout platforms and launched a brand new knowledge dashboard in the course of the interval to assist in market evaluation and coverage analysis.
The regulator additionally pointed to elevated promoting scrutiny and is working with operators to make sure compliance with accountable playing obligations.
As the French playing panorama evolves, the ANJ’s report confirms that the business is on strong footing—each in phrases of income and regulation. With main sporting occasions such because the Olympic Games on the horizon, stakeholders anticipate continued momentum in the second half of the 12 months.
Source:
Synthèse du marché – 1er semestre 2024, Autorité Nationale des Jeux, 1er octobre 2024.
