Gambling sales in France rose 3.5% in 2023 from the 2022 figure, with the ANJ noting that all market segments in France saw their GGR increase for the first time since 2019. However, the ANJ also noted that growth in France lags slightly behind the European average growth of 5.5%.
ANJ explained that online gambling in France has stabilized in 2022 and is on the rise. Markets are still recovering from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ANJ Chairman Isabel Falke-Pierotin is confident that the relatively tight restrictions benefit French industry compared to other markets.
“The good health of these markets shows that tricky regulations are not an obstacle to development,” Palke-Pierotin said. “This growth makes ANJ’s goal of reducing the number of excessive gamblers that it has placed at the center of its action for years to come even more relevant.” 메이저 토토사이트
French Online Gambling on the Rise
ANJ pointed to online as a particularly good performing sector in France, with the sector’s GGR of 2.3 billion euros in 2023, up 7.2% year-on-year. That followed modest growth in 2022, up just 0.8% in 2021.
The number of online players stood at 3.6 million, an increase in that figure in all sectors except sports betting. However, online sports betting is still the most invested sector in the online market, with 16 legitimate operators in the market.
Online sports betting posted a 6.4% GGR growth compared to 2022 despite the absence of major sporting events, reaching 1.5 billion euros. That growth is likely to continue as summer approaches, which includes Euro 2024 and the Olympic Games in the French capital, Paris.
Sports betting accounted for 63.3% of online GGRs, while poker and horse racing accounted for 21.6% and 15.1%, respectively.
Despite the rise in online GGRs, unique player pools fell 7.3% and active accounts also fell 3.9%.
Football accounted for 4.4 billion euros in handling in France in 2023, while tennis accounted for 1.9 billion euros, according to ANJ. Basketball and rugby ranked third and fourth with 899 million euros and 247 million euros, respectively. These four events alone accounted for 88.5% of online sports betting handling in 2023.
FDJ and PMU are thriving
France’s two exclusive operators, La Franc ̧ aise des Jeux and Pari-Mutuel Urban (PMU), both grew in 2023, accounting for 62.7% of France’s total GGR.
The FDJ performed particularly well in 2023 at a GGR of 6.6 billion euros, up 1.8% from 2022. Some 27 million French people played with the FDJ in 2023, up 6% from a year earlier.
FDJ’s 2023 growth was driven by POSCO sports betting and competing activities, which were up 10.4% at GGR in 2022. Those activities accounted for 16.2% of FDJ Group GGR and a gross profit of 1.1 billion euros this year.
FDJ’s strong 2023 led to 2024. Revenue in the first quarter was 710 million euros, up 7.2% year-over-year. Gaming revenue was also up 3.1% year-over-year to 645 million euros.
In January, the FDJ filed a 27.96 billion Swedish krona (£2.19 billion/€2.45 billion/$2.67 billion) offer to buy all of Kindred Group’s outstanding equity capital, which the FDJ later said plans to set up the second-largest operator in European gambling.
Meanwhile, the PMU also saw an increase in betting activity, but the GGR slowed year-on-year to 1.7 billion euros, up 1% in 2022.
ANJ highlights casinos as growing segment in France
Casino activity rose 8.1% in 2023, with the sector achieving a record annual GGR of 2.7 billion euros.
The ANJ highlighted that the increase affected most of the French casinos, with 73.8% of businesses increasing their GGR over 2019 before the pandemic. Slot machines are still a key component of this growth, with ANJ expected to account for more than 80% of casino GGR.
Of France’s seven gaming clubs, GGR stood at 119 million euros in 2023, 10.9% higher than the figure of 170.3 million euros in 2022.
ANJ Warns Gambling Practices Ahead Of Busy Sports Summer
Despite the increasing GGR in France, ANJ noted that the increase in betting activity should serve to warn operators to pay particular attention to the detrimental play ahead of a packed sporting schedule for the rest of the year.
The decline in online sports betting players coincides with an increase of about 6.3% in average stakes per active player, a sign of more intensive play. ANJ warned operators to take “particular care” in how players gamble to prevent vulnerable bettors from overplaying.
Earlier this month, ANJ said it had made “significant progress” in its mission to reduce problem gambling when reviewing operators” action plans to protect vulnerable athletes.
Falke-Pierotin said: “With two major sporting events marked in 2024 (Euro 2024 football and the Paris Olympics), ANJ has reminded operators that due to the risk of deepening gaming practices, ANJ will have to tighten its guard regarding the prevention of gambling by minors and especially by vulnerable people (ages 18-24).”
SIS delivers best racing role to McSorley
McSorley will be in charge of racing product proposals at SIS, which includes overseeing the vendor’s racing strategy and direction across retail and digital.
He will work with SIS stakeholders around the world to improve the live racing offering. In addition, Maxoli will lead the supplier’s non-American international racing portfolio.
McSorley took on a new role where he served as head of international horse racing at SIS for the past two years. Previously, he was commercial manager for the UK and Ireland at the supplier.
Prior to joining SIS, McSolly served as director of business development at Gbet. He also took orders as commercial director at Metric Gaming, head of business development at BragBet, and general manager of Boyle Media at Boyle Sports.
In addition, earlier in his career, McSorley took on the role of marketing director for Betbet, Easyodds.com and Aspiritus.
McSorley “Honored” to take on a new role in SIS
“Our 24/7 racing products deliver great value to operators around the world,” said McSorley. “We are honored to be tasked with overseeing a product that millions of people enjoy and generate revenue.
“We will continue to work to further develop our high-quality products that offer ongoing regular betting opportunities.”
“Conall has demonstrated that during our time with SIS, we have product knowledge and commercial insights to continue to lead the way in delivering top-notch products to more and more partners,” said Andy Perkis, Chief Operating Officer of SIS.
“We are excited to have him in this new role and look forward to building on the strong momentum created by the racing products we have provided in recent months, while increasing value for our customers and rights partners.”
SIS hosts more than 35,000 horse races and more than 27,000 greyhound races each year. This includes actions from more than 170 tracks that produce 8,760 hours of betting content for global operators.
