The French market closed 2025 with strong online performance, rising casinos, and a continued downturn in PMU, while the regulator warns of a particularly tense 2026.
The French gaming market closed 2025 with a gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €14.1 billion, representing a 3% increase compared to 2024, according to the annual report published by the ANJ. Growth was mainly driven by lotteries, online sports betting, and the recovery of the casino business, in a context where France remains aligned with other major European markets such as the United Kingdom and Italy.
One of the most significant developments of the year was the continued expansion of the online segment, which reached €2.617 billion in GGR, up 8.5%, now accounting for 18.5% of the total market compared to 12.8% in 2019. Within this segment, online sports betting once again acted as the main driver, generating €1.766 billion in GGR, a 10.4% increase, with total stakes reaching €11.517 billion, up 12%.
Football remained the sport with the highest betting volume, reaching €6.32 billion, while tennis consolidated its position as the second-largest growth driver with €2.65 billion. The ANJ also highlights that the new UEFA Champions League format helped partially offset the absence of major national team competitions during the year.
The French regulator also emphasizes the expansion of the user base. In 2025, the online market reached 4.2 million unique players, up 7.7%, and 6.1 million active accounts, an increase of 7.1%. In addition, multi-vertical participation continued to grow strongly, with more players engaging across several segments, while the single-vertical user profile lost relative weight.
Alongside sports betting, online poker also showed solid growth, reaching €525 million in GGR, up 6.5%, while online horse racing bets increased to €326 million, up 2.5%.
At the same time, activities under FDJ United’s exclusive rights—covering lotteries and retail sports betting—continued to account for nearly half of the French market, with €6.95 billion in GGR, up 2.8%, driven by lotteries, which grew 3.4%. At group level, including Kindred for the first full year, FDJ United recorded €8.706 billion in GGR, although with a more modest 0.8% like-for-like growth.
The negative highlight of the year once again came from PMU, whose decline continues and even accelerates. Bets fell 3.3% to €6.4 billion, while GGR dropped 2.8% to €1.651 billion. Its player base also decreased by 5.7% to 3.3 million, after recovering pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
Casinos, however, returned to positive momentum, with GGR reaching €2.816 billion, up 3.4%, and 31.6 million admissions, a 2% increase. In contrast, Parisian gaming clubs were affected by a two-month closure at the beginning of the year and ended 2025 with a 21% drop in GGR, down to €97 million.
Looking ahead to 2026, the ANJ expects a year of strong competitive pressure. The regulator believes that the growing weight of online gaming, increasing player multi-activity, and the arrival of new operators will continue to intensify market dynamics. This is compounded by the full-year impact of tax changes introduced on July 1, 2025, the potential effect of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the evolution of adjacent markets such as JONUM, whose experimental framework began earlier this year.
ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin warned that 2026 will be a decisive year for the entire gaming market, in a scenario marked by intensified competition, new forms of betting, and, in her view, the need to move towards a less intensive gaming model with potential adjustments to the current regulatory framework.
18+ | Juegoseguro.es – Jugarbien.es
