The 2026 FIFA World Cup appears to have kept France’s regulated gambling market from stalling, pushing total GGR in H1 up just over 0.5% year-over-year.
Between January-June, total market GGR excluding casinos came in at €5.66bn, which was a sharp deceleration compared to the same period in 2025 that saw 4.1% growth YoY.
Online GGR now appears to be the most significant growth engine, generating a total of €1.45bn or 11% more YoY.
World Cup kick-off caused a spike
Online sports betting GGR wasn’t far behind at €995m, up 11.6% YoY, but it spiked in June ahead of the World Cup kick-off.
Stakes in June skyrocketed by 47% YoY, compared to the modest 4% growth for the January-May period. The total value of stakes for the reporting period amounted to €6.6bn.
Meanwhile, poker also appeared to be an outlier. Online poker GGR rose 13.4% YoY to €290m after a near-flat half-year. Growth was seen throughout H1, with Active Player Accounts (APAs) jumping by 38.5% to 2.3 million.
Compared with sports betting APAs, which jumped 69% YoY in June but were up only 11% YoY in May, poker providers appear to be expanding their player base noticeably faster.
Offline giants under pressure
GGR from exclusive retail FDJ United and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) activities was down 2% and 5.8% YoY respectively.
FDJ United GGR from lottery and retail sports dropped to €3.43bn, with lottery draw games bringing a noticeable -7.6% drag contributed to “fewer and lower Euromillions jackpots” and weaker footfall in the second quarter due to higher-than-average weather temperatures.
With FDJ representing 61% of the total French market GGR, the operator has indicated that it will aim to stabilise its France-facing activities by the end of the 2026 financial year, according to French gambling regulator ANJ.
Meanwhile, PMU, the pari-mutuel horse racing betting operator, recorded a third consecutive year of GGR decline, down 5.8% to €782m, a gradual acceleration from the -2.6% recorded in H1 2025.
PMU is currently undergoing state-backed restructuring through the Pacte PMU 2030 plan, which aims to modernise the French horse racing sector. PMU’s contributions to the sport will drop to €725m in 2026, down from last year’s €802m commitment.
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