France

France operates a deliberately partial online-gambling regime: Loi n° 2010-476 du 12 mai 2010 opened only online sports betting, horse-race (pool) betting and poker to licensed competition, while online casino and slot games remain prohibited. The ANJ (Autorité Nationale des Jeux), which replaced ARJEL in 2020, approves operators, oversees player and minor protection and integrity, approves each operator's annual promotional strategy and combats illegal offers; FDJ (lottery and retail betting) and PMU (retail horse-race pools) hold specific monopolies. Since the 2019-2020 reform, state levies are charged on gross gaming revenue rather than stakes. A 2024-2025 proposal to legalise online casino was dropped after opposition from the land-based casino sector, so online casino remains banned.

A deliberately partial regime

France licenses only three online products - sports betting, pool horse-race betting and poker - while online casino and slots remain prohibited, leaving France and Cyprus as the only EU states banning online casino. An amendment to authorise online casino, tabled within the draft 2025 budget in October 2024, was withdrawn after opposition from the land-based casino sector, which argued that legalisation could divert a substantial share of on-site spend and threaten regional employment. The practical consequence is a narrow licensed market operating alongside a large offshore grey market that the ANJ can restrict but not license.

From ARJEL to ANJ

The Autorite Nationale des Jeux replaced ARJEL in 2020, broadening the mandate from purely online licensing to supervision across the wider sector. A distinctive feature is prior approval: each licensed operator must submit an annual promotional strategy for the ANJ to sign off, and the authority can constrain both the volume and the content of marketing. This moves advertising oversight from after-the-fact enforcement towards ex-ante control, meaning approved operators plan campaigns within limits the regulator has already vetted rather than testing boundaries and awaiting sanction.

Levies pitched on GGR

Since the 2019-2020 reform, public levies fall on gross gaming revenue (produit brut des jeux) rather than on stakes. From 1 July 2025 the 2025 Social Security Financing Act raised these to roughly 59.3% of GGR for online sports betting and about 52.9% for online horse-race betting, with online poker set at a flat 10% of GGR. Part of the sports-betting increase came through the CSG social-security component, lifted from 10.6% to 15% of GGR. Because the base is revenue after winnings rather than turnover, the headline percentages apply to a narrower figure than stakes.

What the rates leave

With combined online sports-betting levies near 59.3% of GGR, plus a new 15% tax on operators' advertising and promotional spend (horse-race operators excepted), a large portion of French online revenue is transferred before other operating costs are met. The listed operator FDJ publicly flagged a material earnings impact from the 2025 increases. For a diligence reader the point is structural rather than cyclical: margin on French sports betting is compressed by the levy design, while the advertising tax raises the cost of the customer acquisition that the promotional-approval regime already limits.

Protection and exclusion tools

Player-protection duties centre on the Fichier des interdits de jeux, a national ban register capturing self-exclusions and court-ordered bans that licensed operators must check before allowing play, blocking listed individuals. The minimum age is 18, advertising directed at minors is prohibited, and health-warning messaging is compulsory. Combined with the ANJ's prior approval of each operator's promotional strategy, these measures place both market access and marketing under regulatory gatekeeping, rather than relying solely on operator discretion or on penalties applied after harm has occurred.

Tax

Key facts

Compare France head-to-head

Open forecasts

Licence types

Fees

Change-watch

Sources (4)