Sports Betting Makes Up 64% of France’s Non-Casino GGR in H1 2023

The National Gambling Authority (ANJ) has released the gambling numbers and analysis for the first half of 2023, leaving out casinos.

The total turnover in the industry rose by 4% compared to the same period in 2022, reaching 5.3 billion euros ($5.59 billion). The total gross gaming revenue (GGR*) went up by 10% to nearly 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion). Sports betting took the lion’s share of the GGR at 64%, followed by online poker at 21%, and horse racing bets at 15%.

The boost in sports betting is partly due to the spillover effect of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which ended in late 2022. This event helped bookmakers draw in many new active customers.

But compared to 2021, the betting figures dropped, because of the UEFA Euro 2020 held in mid-2021. The second half of the year is expected to be better for betting, thanks to the Rugby World Cup and UEFA Champions League matches happening in France.

Lottery sales grew by 2% compared to 2022. But this modest growth is because there were no big jackpots in January to June 2023 for the most popular operators in the country (LOTO and Euromillions).

The two biggest local gambling operators, Française Des Jeux (FDJ) and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), made up 78% of the total gambling revenue in the French market. FDJ showed a 3% increase compared to the first half of 2022, while PMU increased by 1%.

*GGR is a financial metric used to measure gross earnings, calculated by subtracting total winnings from total bets.