SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Licensed bookmakers in France took €650m in stakes from French punters during the UEFA Euro 2024 championships that concluded on 14 July with Spain becoming European champions for the fourth time, according to the latest figures published by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ).
The total was less than that recorded during the previous Euros in 2021, said ANJ, but it was also some way above the estimates stated by AFJEL, the country’s trade body for online gambling operators mid-month.
AFJEL said dot fr operators had experienced a bad tournament due to the illegal casino operators targeting French players with sports betting offers. The trade group said total stakes would be below the ‘minimum’ €500m mark that had been predicted by most industry observers.
For its part, ANJ said that while some illegal online casino sites offered sports betting products, “this service is not widely used by the public”.
However, industry observers often make the point that unregulated sports betting-focused operators have been targeting the market for some time and while that vertical is not believed to be as substantial as unregulated iCasino (estimated to be worth €1.5bn-€2bn), it is profitable enough for those companies to continue targeting French sports punters.
ANJ said factors behind the lack of enthusiasm for betting on the Euros included the bad political atmosphere following the parliamentary elections and the absence of goals scored by the French team in the group phase.
Operators invested around €60m in advertising during the event and ANJ said its “call for moderation was respected by all operators” as “no major incidents were observed, either in terms of content or advertising volumes”.
According to a recent survey by Toluna-Harris Interactive, up to 25% of the French population will consider placing a bet on the Olympic Games, with 74% of the potential bettors saying that the Games being held in Paris “was an argument that made them want to place a bet, even though 64% had not placed a bet four years ago at the Tokyo Games”.
At the Tokyo Games in 2021, €120m was wagered with licensed French sportsbooks, ANJ said “these stakes could double with the Paris Games”, as france prepares to host its biggest ever sporting event.
During the first half of the year, France’s online sports betting market was “very dynamic”, ANJ said, with stakes rising 24% to €5.2bn GGR up 16% to €871m. The regulator noted that the growth was “not solely attributable” to the Euros as “cumulative GGR” from January to May was already up on 2023 figures. In June alone, active customer numbers rose 16% YoY to 2 million, boosted by operators’ Euros-related marketing.
Overall, France’s online gaming market was up 10% in H1 to €1.3bn in GGR with active player accounts up +13% YoY.
