French Gambling Growth Slows With Online Market the Only Contributor

France’s gambling market grew 0.5% in the first half of 2026 as gross gaming revenue reached €5.66 billion, with the online sector the only contributor to growth, French regulator the Autorité Nationale des Jeux said in its half-year market assessment published on October 15, 2026.

The figures cover the market excluding casinos and gaming clubs, whose results are communicated on an annual basis, and the assessment was published with a link to the regulator’s full 14-page report for the half. The 0.5% rise in gross gaming revenue, tracked by the regulator as the produit brut des jeux, compares with growth of 4.1% recorded a year earlier. While the exclusive-rights activities of FDJ United and PMU declined over the period, the online market, which represents 25.6% of the market excluding casinos and clubs, drove overall growth, particularly through sports betting. The regulator counted an unprecedented base of 5.85 million active player accounts across the half.

Sports Betting Growth Concentrated in World Cup Month

Online gross gaming revenue stood at €1.45 billion for the first half, up 11% on the same period a year earlier, and the segment now represents more than a quarter of the market excluding casinos and gaming clubs. Online sports betting remained the driver of the online market, ahead of poker and horse-race betting.

Sports-betting stakes rose 10.6% over the half to €6.6 billion, but the regulator said that growth was concentrated in June, the month in which the 2026 football World Cup began. Stakes grew 4% from January to May, against 47% in June alone.

June also accounted for the bulk of the growth in player numbers, with active player accounts up 69% between June 2025 and June 2026. The regulator said that increase could be set against the promotional effort deployed by operators during the period, with acquisition bonuses multiplied by nearly four compared with June 2025.

Other online segments posted steadier gains. Online poker gross gaming revenue reached €290 million, up 13.4%, driven by Sit&Go games, which account for 70% of poker revenue. Poker’s active player accounts grew year-on-year from January, rising 39% over the half. Horse-race betting stakes rose 16% to €920 million, their strongest increase since 2021, while the number of players rose only 3%. Growth in active accounts was observed across all three online segments, taking the total to 5.85 million, up 24% on the first half of 2025.

FDJ United and PMU Post Declines

FDJ United’s exclusive-rights gross gaming revenue in France fell 2% to €3.43 billion over the half, after the operator contributed 2.7 points to market growth in the first half of 2025. Lottery represented most of that decline, at €64 million.

Draw games fell 7.6%, a drop the operator attributed to fewer and lower Euromillions jackpots and to reduced footfall at points of sale in the second quarter, which it linked to heatwave episodes. Excluding long Euromillions cycles, lottery gross gaming revenue rose 1%, according to the operator.

PMU’s exclusive-rights activities declined for a third consecutive year. Stakes fell 3.8% to €3.1 billion and gross gaming revenue fell 5.8% to €782 million, a rate of decline that accelerated from the 2.6% recorded in the first half of 2025.

Outlook for the Rest of 2026

The regulator said the online market approaches the second half of the year with an unprecedented player base of 5.85 million active accounts, and that the segment’s annual growth will rest on the activity of those players following the World Cup.

The regulator said full-year market development will depend in part on FDJ United, which represents 61% of gross gaming revenue excluding casinos and clubs. The operator has indicated it is targeting stable gross gaming revenue for its France retail network activities over the 2026 financial year.

For PMU, the regulator described 2026 as a transition year marked by a renewal of the operator’s governance and the development of a Pacte PMU 2030. PMU’s 2026 budget provides for a €725 million payment to the horse-racing sector, against €802 million in 2025.