French gambling regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has revealed in its 2024 report on Thursday that they previously had discussions with the current and previous French governments to discuss legalising iGaming in France.
As it stands, customers have access to online sports betting, poker and lotteries, which are legal in France, but casino games are only legally available at land-based locations.
2024 was a stellar year for the industry due to their final data results showing an increased gross gambling revenue of a record €2.6 billion GGR, which was up 12% from 2023.
Those figures were assisted due to two major sporting events with the 2024 Paris Olympics and Football European Championships both taking place in the summer months of 2024. This is why a large portion of that revenue was from sports online betting; they produced a GGR of €1.8 billion which represented an annual increase of 19%.
In terms of overall players, there has been an upward trend in active player accounts. Gambling participation is up 11% in 2024 to 5.7 million and sports betting player accounts are up 13%, poker is up 11% and horse racing enjoyed a 4% increase.
Given this sharp rise in interest for gambling, the ANJ has warned any such regulation must be ‘carefully considered’. Previously, the regulator had examined foreign examples of online casino openings and their economic and public health impacts to ensure they would be prepared and informed on how best to bring iGaming to the country.
France’s previous government, under the leadership of Michel Barnier, had initially begun the process of drafting a potential legislation but they were met with opposition from the land-based casino sector.
However, the ANJ’s willingness to continue talks coupled with the government’s previous consultation process and interest alongside the 2024 betting upturn, could see a renewed iGaming legislation could come this summer or in early 2026, according to sources speaking iGaming Business in March.
With 2024 bringing a wider mass sporting appeal, there is clear evidence that the success of the football and Olympic athletes was linked to more bets being placed. France’s football team reached the semi-final of Euro 2024 and total betting figures on the tournament reached €438 million which was more than when they suffered a shock Last 16 defeat in Euro 2021.
The same goes for the Olympics; France’s fifth-place finish in the medal table led to considerably more bets on the games. Resulting in a 182% increase from the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. At the same time, Casinos recorded a slight increase in gross sales of 1.2%, to €2.7 billion in 2024.
If online casinos are regulated in the country, the increase in player betting online could result in a strong online casino interaction, given that the country just experienced a record year of online betting. With the estimated renewed legislation potentially targeted for this summer of early 2026, France could be engaging in the online casino market sooner rather than later.
