2024 Gambling Market Review: Sustained Growth for Europe's 4th Largest Market

A rapidly growing online gaming market, driven almost exclusively by sports betting

Following a particularly favorable sporting calendar with the Euro 2020 football championship and the Paris Olympics, the online market had a record year with a gross domestic product (GDP) of €2.6 billion, up 12% compared to 2023. Spearheading this growth, online sports betting recorded a GDP of nearly €1.8 billion, up 19% compared to 2023. With a market share of over 12% of the total gambling market, online sports betting is the second largest contributor to market growth, accounting for 43% of this growth. Online horse racing betting, for its part, is up slightly by nearly 1%, and poker is showing a 2% decline in its GGR, after growing continuously between 2021 and 2023.

A sign of its vitality, the online gaming market is recording, after two years of decline, significant growth in the number of Active Player Accounts (APA), with 5.7 million APA (+11% compared to 2023). This trend is observed across all market segments (13% growth for sports betting, 11% for poker, and 4% for horse racing betting). Similarly, the number of unique players now stands at 3.9 million (an 8% increase compared to 2023, with a player having an average of 1.5 accounts). The sports betting population has become younger (30% of sports bettors are between 18 and 24 years old) and has also become more female.

In addition to the favorable sporting calendar, the dynamic online market is the result of aggressive marketing policies implemented by operators, marked by an increase in marketing communications budgets, the maintenance of a high level of financial rewards, and the deployment of cross-selling strategies between different segments.

Among the forty or so sports open to betting in France, four stand out in particular for the amounts wagered: football (€5,630 million in stakes), tennis (€2,273 million), basketball (€914 million), and rugby (€186 million). In 2024, these four sports alone will account for 87.5% of online sports betting stakes. Sports such as volleyball, ice hockey, badminton, handball, and cycling also saw significant growth in stakes (+31% between 2023 and 2024).

FDJ United: A group undergoing a transformation, notably through acquisitions

With nearly 50% market share, FDJ United is the leading contributor to market growth and is consolidating its position as the leader in the French gambling market, with a GGR exceeding €7 billion for the first time (+6% compared to 2023). This growth is mainly driven by the lottery (€5.8 billion, +5% GGR).

PMU: A declining monopoly business but a growing player base

The activity of the PMU Economic Interest Group (GIE), which recorded €6.6 billion in stakes and €1.7 billion in gross betting income in 2024, shows a 2% decrease compared to 2024. However, the PMU achieved a stable net profit of €837 million (compared to €835 million in 2023), which allows it to maintain its funding for the horse racing industry. Despite a slight decline in the PMU's market share (12% of the market gross betting income, supplanted for the first time by online sports betting), the PMU's player base is expected to increase by 6% in 2024 (3.5 million players), returning to the 2019 level before the health crisis.

Casinos: Slightly Growing Business with Stable Admissions

2024 appears to mark a consolidation period for casinos, with a slight increase in gross sales of 1.2% to €2.7 billion and stable admissions at 31 million. The gross sales of gaming clubs are slowing, reaching €123 million.

2025 Outlook

While the market shows no signs of slowing down, 2025 is shaping up to be a risky year in terms of the intensification of gambling practices, which could result from continued high advertising pressure (promotional budgets are increasing by nearly 11% even though there is no major competition) and the continuation of cross-selling campaigns targeting newly acquired players. Furthermore, renewed competitive tensions between the major operators that dominate this market tend to accentuate these risks by increasing player pressure.

The changes in gambling taxation decided upon as part of the PLFSS (Social Finance Law) and which will come into effect on July 1st could, however, impact online market activity in 2025. It will be particularly important to determine whether the new 15% tax on commercial communications expenses of online sports betting operators will have an impact on the actual amount of investments made in the second half of the year.

Beyond the ongoing consolidation of the gambling sector, the opening of the market for games with monetizable digital objects (JONUM) will be monitored in 2025. Regarding this experiment implemented by the SREN law of May 21, 2024, the ANJ will be particularly vigilant in ensuring strict compliance with the rules governing gambling. The experiment is expected to begin in September 2025 after the publication of the various decrees.