French gambling market generates GGR of €5.3bn in H1 2023
Growth across sports betting, horseracing and poker praised as regulator points to strong retention from last year’s World Cup
The French gambling market saw overall year-on-year (YoY) growth of 4% in gross gambling revenue (GGR), reaching €5.3bn (£4.8bn) in H1 2023.
According to the French gambling regulator, ANJ, the online sector reported GGR growth of 10%, up to €1.2bn in the first half of the year compared to the €1.07bn in 2022.
However, this figure is still lower than what was posted in H1 2021, which saw €1.21bn GGR recorded across online operations.
Across both retail and online, sports betting accounted for 64% of total GGR, with poker taking 21% of the market share and horseracing representing 15%.
Sports betting GGR increased 10% YoY to €750m which was coupled with total sports betting stakes jumping 5% to €4.2bn.
There was also a 12% increase in the number of active player accounts across sports betting, which hit 3.2 million in H1 2023.
Poker GGR increased 16% YoY to €251m while horseracing GGR represented the smallest annual variance, rising 5% to €177m.
The ANJ also noted a 3% increase in active player accounts across the online sector, reaching 3.9 million.
The report also examined France’s two monopoly holders, lottery operator Française Des Jeux (FDJ) and horseracing operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), with the pair accounting for 78% of total GGR.
The FDJ saw its GGR increase by 2% in H1 2023 to €3.3bn. The slight increase was put down to a rise in sports betting as stakes jumped by 13% YoY.
FDJ lottery stakes remained flat at a 2% uptick, with the ANJ noting that while it was the usual driver of the operator’s GGR, customer retention from the Qatar 2022 World Cup had helped bolster its sports betting arm. Elsewhere, PMU saw GGR reach €873m in H1, representing a slight 1% YoY increase