Latest figures from France show that the gambling market had a cooldown in the first half of 2026. The country’s National Gambling Authority (ANJ) reported declines in lottery and horse racing, which were offset by online wagering.
Gross gaming revenue excluding casinos and gaming clubs reached €5.66bn in the first six months of 2026. It represented a slight 0.5% increase year-on-year, compared with growth of 4.1% in the first half of 2025.
French online casinos were the sector’s only improving vertical, with a modest 2.5% improvement from the same time last year. Meanwhile, FDJ United’s exclusive-rights activities and PMU weighed on the market, reducing growth by 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
Online Gambling Market Grows 11%
According to the report, online gambling revenue increased by 11% to €1.45bn, up from the 8.2% bump in the first half of 2025. The vertical accounted for 25.6% of the overall market, excluding casinos and gaming clubs, or an increase of 2.4%.
However, online sports betting remained the main growth contributor, with 7.9% of the segment’s expansion. Poker added 2.6%, while online horse racing betting contributed a further 0.3%.
In the first half of 2026, the online sector had a total of 5.85 million active player accounts, which was an impressive 24% improvement from the previous year. Unique players also rose by 17% to 4.06 million, while players participated in an average of 1.45 gambling segments, up from 1.38 a year earlier.
However, the growth in player activity coincided with an increase in player incentives. Online gambling rewards increased by 28% or €199m, which is equivalent to 13.8% of GGR, compared with 11.9% in the first half of 2025.
World Cup Drives Betting Volume
ANJ reported that revenue from online sports betting increased by 11.6% to €995m, while stakes rose by 10.6% to €6.6bn. But most of the growth came from the FIFA World Cup in June 2026.
Sports betting stakes increased by 47% year-on-year in June, compared with just 4% between January and May. Football accounted for most of the expansion, with stakes rising by 16% across the period, including a 116% increase in June.
Active sports betting accounts reached 5.2 million, up 28% year-on-year. As expected, June accounted for a significant share of this growth, with monthly active accounts increasing by 69% to 3.1 million.
ANJ attributed the new players to operators’ promotional activity during June. Sports betting rewards increased by 35% to €129m, with €35.5m distributed in June alone, more than double the €14.5m recorded in June 2025.
Additionally, acquisition bonuses nearly quadrupled during the month, rising to €9m from €2.4m a year earlier. Despite the increase in activity, stakes per active account declined by 14% over the semester, while the average stake per bet fell from €14.60 to €14.
In the regulator's words, activity during the second half of the year would help determine whether the World Cup had delivered a lasting expansion of the sports betting player base.
Poker and Horse Racing Betting Also Expand
It was further reported that online poker proceeds increased by 13.4% to €290m, recovering from an underwhelming performance in the first half of 2025. Active player accounts rose by 38.5% to 2.3 million, while unique players increased by 34.4% to 1.8 million.
ANJ says growth was largely driven by short-format games, particularly Sit & Go tournaments, which generated €202m and accounted for 70% of poker revenue. The regulator also noted that active poker accounts increased throughout the period, and did not have a concentration of growth in June as sports betting.
Still, poker GGR per active account declined by 18% to €126, while player rewards increased by 11% to €50.9m, below the growth rate recorded by the segment’s GGR.
Online horse racing betting stakes rose by 15.8% to €920m, marking the segment’s strongest increase since 2021. GGR grew more modestly, increasing by 2.8% to €164m.
The number of active horse racing betting accounts increased by 6.8% to 547,000, while unique players rose by 3.2% to 462,000. ANJ explained the increase in stakes was mainly due to the more intensive activity among existing players.
FDJ United and PMU Report Declines
FDJ United recorded a 2% decline in GGR to €3.43bn during the first half of 2026. Lottery operations accounted for most of the decrease, with revenue falling by €64m, or 2.1%, to €2.98bn.
Meanwhile, draw-based games saw a sharper decline of 7.6%. According to FDJ United, the performance reflected fewer and smaller high-value EuroMillions jackpots, as well as reduced footfall at retail outlets in Q2 amid heatwaves.
The operator shared that without the long EuroMillions jackpot cycles, or simply jackpots over €75m, lottery revenue increased by 1%.
Its retail sports betting GGR fell by 1.1% to €450m, but FDJ United reported an improvement during the second quarter, which it attributed to more attractive betting offers.
At group level, FDJ United’s GGR dropped by 1.3% to €4.3bn. Revenue fell by 4.5% to €1.8bn, with the operator attributing the 3% decrease to higher gambling taxes in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Romania.
Current EBITDA declined by 8.4% to €404m, while current operating profit fell by 15.1% to €229m. The group also reported a €16m net loss, compared with a €136m profit a year earlier, following impairment charges and an exceptional contribution on large-company profits.
PMU’s activities continued to contract for a third consecutive year. Overall betting activity fell by 3.8% to €3.1bn, while GGR decreased by 5.8% to €782m. The decline in GGR accelerated from 2.6% in the first half of 2025.
PMU’s market share fell to 13.8% of the French gambling market, excluding casinos and gaming clubs. The gap between PMU and online sports betting widened to 3.8 percentage points.
The operator is undergoing a period of transition following changes to its leadership and the development of its ‘Pacte PMU 2030’ strategy. Its 2026 budget provides for a €725m contribution to the horse racing sector, down from €802m in 2025.
Outlook for the Second Half of 2026
ANJ said the performance of France’s gambling market for the full year would depend partly on FDJ United, which accounted for 61% of GGR across the market excluding casinos and gaming clubs. The operator has set a target of stable GGR for its French retail activities in 2026.
At the same time, the online sector enters the second half with a record 5.85 million active player accounts. Its annual growth will depend on whether players recruited during the World Cup remain active after the competition.
