France’s independent gambling regulator, ANJ, has published its H1 2025 market report, highlighting the latest performance trends across the country’s betting and gaming sectors.
Overall growth momentum has continued, largely fuelled by the strong performance of sports betting and FDJ United, the state-owned lottery and gaming group. Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for online gambling reached €1.4bn ($1.64bn), up 6% year-on-year, while total GGR across all verticals rose 3.5% to €5.7bn.
The results, however, reveal diverging sectoral trends. Poker declined by 4% to €246m in GGR, whereas sports betting surged, with stakes climbing 15% to €6bn. Horse racing remained steady, with a marginal 1% rise in stakes and stable GGR.
FDJ United’s figures were significantly boosted by its October 2024 acquisition of Kindred, which expanded its online presence and pushed digital revenues to €700m – a staggering 458% jump. Within sports betting, football and tennis were the main revenue drivers.
Lottery performance also improved, with retail sports betting and lottery revenue up 4.4%. This was supported by Euromillions, which benefitted from long jackpot cycles that spurred higher player participation.
Looking ahead, ANJ projects continued growth in H2 2025, provided operators retain newly acquired customers and maintain effective commercial strategies. However, the regulator cautioned that the recent tax increases could have significant, though difficult to measure, negative impacts on the market.
