Licensed operators across France set new records for online sports betting during the 2026 World Cup, according to data released by the country’s regulator, Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ).
The figures showed bookmakers took more than €1.3bn (£1.1m) worth of stakes during the five-week tournament, leading to gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €157m.
This equated to more than double the amounts recorded during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which generated €597m in stakes and €70m in GGR.
The increase was partly attributed to the expanded format of this year’s competition, with 48 teams playing instead of 32, resulting in 104 matches during the tournament between 11 June and 19 July across the US, Canada and Mexico.
France’s prolonged involvement in the World Cup also helped to drive betting interest, with Didier Deschamps’ side playing the maximum eight fixtures after reaching the third-place playoff.
Across the tournament, 3.1 million players placed more than 113 million bets, ANJ said. These came from 3.8 million active accounts, one million of which were opened during the tournament.
This represented an increase of 40.9% in the number of bettors when compared to the 2022 edition, while the number of bets more than doubled from the 54 million recorded.
The semi-final fixture between France and Spain generated €63m worth of stakes, making it the most bet-on football match in the country since 2010 and exceeding the €53m wagered on the 2022 final in Qatar between France and Argentina.
France’s quarter-final victory over Morocco (€46m in stakes), the final between Spain and Argentina (€38m), the round of 16 win over Paraguay (€35m) and the round of 32 triumph against Sweden (€33m) all now feature in the top 10 most bet-on matches in France’s history.
The release of the figures follows statements from operators across the US which also revealed several records for football betting in the country were broken during the competition.
European operators including Betsson and Svenska Spel cited a World Cup boost as part of their Q2 2026 earnings, while B2B suppliers such as OpenBet and Kambi shared how fruitful the competition proved to be.
That said, the ANJ highlighted that the increased number of betting options could be a “major concern”.
An ANJ statement said: “These record figures reflect a fundamental trend in online sports betting, with annual stakes rising from €8.5bn in 2023 to €10.3bn in 2024 (+21%), and then to €11.5bn in 2025 (+12%), even though the latter year did not include any major international competitions.
“This growth is fuelled in particular by the expanding football calendar, to which the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams contributed. This continued growth in betting options is a major concern for regulators, as it contributes to the intensification of gambling practices.”
The regulator’s figures also noted losses made by players during the tournament.
The data showed 44% of players placed fewer than 10 bets on the competition, while approximately 15,000 placed more than 500 wagers.
Overall, 471,000 players lost more than €100, 217,000 won at least that amount, with roughly a quarter of players finishing the competition without any losses.
ANJ said it would continue to monitor the World Cup’s impact on problem gambling over the coming months.
The regulator also stated that its calls for moderation around marketing initiatives for operators was observed across the board, with companies following ANJ’s guidelines.
However, ANJ expressed displeasure at the government’s dismissal of further marketing restrictions.
The statement added: “The ANJ deplores the abandonment of the whistle-to-whistle ban, a measure it has been advocating for several years. This measure had been adopted by the National Assembly during the debate on the bill relating to the organisation, management and financing of professional sport, and subsequently removed by the joint committee.
“However, it welcomes the positive signal of Parliament’s adoption of several measures that strengthen the arsenal for combating illegal gambling, and several measures protecting players aged 18 to 25 from online gambling.”
The post France sets online betting record as World Cup stakes more than double first appeared on EGR Intel.
ANJ figures show operators took more than €1.3bn in online stakes, up from €597m in 2022, though expanded tournament flagged as a “major concern”
The post France sets online betting record as World Cup stakes more than double first appeared on EGR Intel.