France — Online Gambling Regulation
A prohibition-by-default system, one national regulator (the ANJ), and three licensed online products
Last verified: 2026-10-05
France prohibits gambling except where the law authorises it. Online, only sports betting, horse-race betting and poker from ANJ-approved operators, plus FDJ’s lottery monopoly, are legal; online casino games and slot machines are not authorised. This record tracks the legal framework, the ANJ, 2025 market data, gambling levies, player protection and enforcement, with claim-level source citations and a verified/unverified split.
France — Online Gambling Regulation (2026)
Overview
French law starts from a prohibition: games of chance for money are banned unless a legal exception applies. Article L. 320-1 of the Internal Security Code sets the ban and article L. 320-6 lists the exceptions, which include casinos, the FDJ lottery and the games opened to licensed online competition by Act No. 2010-476 of 12 May 2010. Since the Ordinance of 2 October 2019, one body, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), regulates all of them, whether run under a monopoly or in competition.
Online, the licensed offer is narrow. Sports betting, horse-race betting and poker may be offered by operators approved by the ANJ, and lottery games are reserved to FDJ. Casino games, and online slot machines in particular, are not authorised, and the ANJ’s blocking powers are aimed at the unlicensed sites that offer them. In 2025 the market earned €14.1 billion in gross gaming revenue, with the online segment at €2.6 billion or 18.5% of the total. Operators carry heavy public levies on that revenue, which rose on 1 July 2025. For players, winnings from games of pure chance are generally not treated as taxable income merely because play is habitual; qualifying gambling activity involving significant control over chance and significant income can be taxable, and BOFiP addresses professional poker gains as taxable non-commercial profits in qualifying circumstances. Players can exclude themselves from all licensed play through the ANJ’s register.
The prohibition, the ANJ’s role and the list of authorised games by segment. [1]
France gambling market 2025
Up 3.0% on 2024; GGR means stakes minus player winnings. Source: ANJ 2025 market review.
France online gambling 2025
Up 8.5% (the ANJ’s table shows +8.6%); 18.5% of total GGR, against 12.8% in 2019.
Online sports-betting levy
Up from 54.9%, with the social levy rising from 10.6% to 15%. An operator-disclosed figure (FDJ UNITED), not statute text.
Gambling regulation timeline, 1836 to 2027
| Date | Event | Category | Verified against primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1836 | Gambling prohibited in France, according to the Government’s 2019 communiqué on the reform ordinance | legislation | ✓ |
| 2010-05-12 | Act No. 2010-476 opens online sports betting, horse-race betting and poker to licensed competition (referred to in the 2019 Ordinance as the Act under which online sites are authorised) | legislation | ✓ |
| 2019-10-02 | Ordinance No. 2019-1015 reforms gambling regulation and creates the ANJ | legislation | ✓ |
| 2020-06 | The ANJ becomes operational, replacing ARJEL for online licensing | regulator | ✓ |
| 2022-03-02 | Act of 2 March 2022 gives the ANJ president the power to order administrative blocking of illegal gambling sites | enforcement | ✓ |
| 2024-11-06 | Budget minister opens a consultation on online-casino legalisation after the Government withdrew its budget amendment | legislation | ✓ |
| 2025-02-28 | Social security financing act for 2025 (Act No. 2025-199) promulgated, raising gambling levies | tax | ✓ |
| 2025-07-01 | Higher gambling levies and the 15% advertising and promotion charge take effect | tax | ✓ |
| 2025-11-18 | ANJ relaunches the voluntary self-exclusion service online | player protection | ✓ |
| 2026-01 | Experimental legal framework for JONUM (monetisable digital object games) enters into force | legislation | ✓ |
| 2026-04-16 | ANJ reportedly approves bet365 (Hillside, New Media Malta) for online sports betting; the ANJ list shows bet365.fr for sports betting | licensing | ✗ |
| 2026-05-19 | ANJ reportedly adds horse-race betting and online poker approvals for bet365; not confirmed on the ANJ’s own lists | licensing | ✗ |
| 2026-07-16 | ANJ president orders ISPs to block Polymarket | enforcement | ✓ |
| 2026-08-03 | Act No. 2026-725 on professional sport promulgated (published 4 Aug 2026) | legislation | ✓ |
| 2026-08-05 | New ANJ powers over VPN and circumvention services and financial-flow freezes reportedly take effect; Act text not read | enforcement | ✗ |
| 2027-01-01 | A new version of CSI article L. 320-11 takes effect (Légifrance version history); commentary links it to loss controls for 18 to 25 year-olds, final wording unconfirmed | player protection | ✓ |
The Government’s 2019 communiqué on the reform ordinance and the Légifrance version history of the Internal Security Code. [2]
Online gaming by segment, 2024 and 2025
| Segment | Active player accounts 2024 (thousand) | Active player accounts 2025 (thousand) | Stakes 2024 (EUR million) | Stakes 2025 (EUR million) | GGR 2024 (EUR million) | GGR 2025 (EUR million) | GGR change 2024 to 2025 (%) | Verified against primary source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online sports betting | 4882 | 5267 | 10282 | 11517 | 1599 | 1766 | 10.4 | ✓ | About two-thirds of online GGR |
| Online horse-race betting | 664 | 718 | 1566 | 1680 | 318 | 326 | 2.4 | ✓ | The ANJ’s text gives +2.5%, its table +2.4% |
| Online poker | 2115 | 2465 | — | — | 493 | 525 | 6.5 | ✓ | No stake figure in the ANJ table |
| Total online | 5698 | 6100 | — | — | 2411 | 2617 | 8.6 | ✓ | Account totals are not the sum of segments because one player can hold accounts in several segments; the ANJ text gives +8.5%, its table +8.6% |
ANJ’s 2025 market review. [3]
Public levies on gambling before and after 1 July 2025
| Game category | Total public levies before 1 July 2025 (%) | Total public levies from 1 July 2025 (%) | Basis | Social levy (CSG) change | Verified against primary source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loto and Euromillions | 68 | 69 | % of GGR | 6.2% to 7.2% of GGR | ✓ |
| Other draw games and instant games | 55.5 | 56.5 | % of GGR | 6.2% to 7.2% of GGR | ✓ |
| Retail sports betting (FDJ) | 41.1 | 42.1 | % of GGR | 6.6% to 7.6% of GGR | ✓ |
| Online sports betting | 54.9 | 59.3 | % of GGR | 10.6% to 15% of GGR | ✓ |
| Online poker | 0.2 | 10 | Before: % of stakes. After: % of GGR | Not stated in the release | ✓ |
| Online horse-race betting | 52.3 | 52.9 | % of GGR | Unchanged; levy to racing societies rose (set annually by decree) | ✓ |
FDJ UNITED’s 2025 results, French tax framework section. [4]
Verification status of this record
This record is at the fact-check stage. Claims marked Verified rest on the ANJ’s own pages, Légifrance and Parliament texts, the Ministry of the Economy and an operator’s regulated results disclosure, fetched directly or read via search excerpt. Claims marked Unverified rest on trade press, law-firm commentary, a 2011 parliamentary answer, or an Act whose text could not be retrieved in this pass; see the individual claim statuses below.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in France?
Only in three forms: sports betting, horse-race betting and poker, offered by operators the ANJ has approved, plus the FDJ lottery under its exclusive right. Online casino games and slot machines are not authorised, and the ANJ describes sites offering them as illegal.
Who regulates gambling in France?
The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), an independent administrative authority created by the Ordinance of 2 October 2019 and operational since June 2020. It regulates all authorised games and approves online operators.
Are online casinos going to be legalised?
Not as of this record. The Government withdrew a budget amendment concerning legalisation in autumn 2024 and opened a stakeholder consultation on 6 November 2024. Online casino games remain unauthorised in France; this record does not state a later consultation timetable as a confirmed official fact.
Can I exclude myself from gambling in France?
Yes. The ANJ’s voluntary self-exclusion register bars access to casinos, gaming clubs, ANJ-approved online sites and FDJ and PMU games played with an account, for at least three years.
Key facts
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Verified
French law prohibits gambling by default: article L. 320-1 of the Internal Security Code (Code de la sécurité intérieure, CSI) prohibits games of chance for money except as authorised under article L. 320-6, which lists the narrow exceptions (including games operated by casinos); the Government described the prohibition as in place since 1836 when it reformed regulation by ordinance in October 2019.
Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative)
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Verified
Online, France authorises only sports betting, horse-race betting and poker (“jeux de cercle”) offered by operators approved by the ANJ, plus lottery games under the FDJ exclusive right; casino games, and online slot machines in particular, are not authorised on the French market. Land-based casino games are offered in 202 gaming establishments and eight Paris gaming clubs.
Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)
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Verified
The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) is an independent administrative authority created by the Ordinance of 2 October 2019 and operational since June 2020; it replaced ARJEL for online licensing and regulates every authorised game, whether run under monopoly or in competition (lotteries, horse-race betting, sports betting and poker).
Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative)
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Verified
The ANJ college has nine members, each appointed for six years in a term that is neither revocable nor renewable; Pascal Chèvremont has been ANJ President since June 2026, after Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, who was still quoted as President in the ANJ’s 16 April 2026 market review.
Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)
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Verified
France’s gambling market reached gross gaming revenue (produit brut des jeux, PBJ: stakes minus player winnings, not stakes) of €14.1 billion in 2025, up 3.0%, in line with the UK (+4.3%) and Italy (+1.9%); online gaming accounted for €2,617 million (+8.5% in the ANJ’s text, +8.6% in its summary table), or 18.5% of the total against 12.8% in 2019.
Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)
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Verified
In 2025 online sports betting generated €1,766 million GGR (+10.4%) from €11,517 million staked (+12.0%); online poker €525 million GGR (+6.5%); and online horse-race betting €326 million GGR (+2.4% in the ANJ’s table, +2.5% in its text) from €1,680 million staked.
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Verified
Act No. 2025-199 of 28 February 2025 (social security financing act for 2025), article 32, raised gambling levies from 1 July 2025; the Ministry of the Economy lists the lottery social contribution rising from 6.2% to 7.2%, retail sports betting from 6.6% to 7.6%, online sports betting from 10.6% to 15%, and online poker from 0.2% to 10%.
Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle, énergétique et numérique, FDJ UNITED
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Verified
FDJ UNITED’s 2025 results give the resulting total public levies as a share of GGR: Loto and Euromillions 68.0% to 69.0%; other draw and instant games 55.5% to 56.5%; retail sports betting 41.1% to 42.1%; online sports betting 54.9% to 59.3%; online horse-race betting 52.3% to 52.9% (driven by the annual decree on the levy paid to racing societies); and online poker from 0.2% of stakes to 10.0% of GGR. These are the operator’s disclosed figures, not statute text.
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Verified
As a rule, winnings from games of pure chance are not treated as taxable income merely because a person plays habitually. Gambling activity carried out under conditions that significantly reduce the normal element of chance and produces significant income can be taxable; BOFiP specifically addresses professional poker gains as taxable non-commercial profits in qualifying circumstances.
Assemblée nationale, Direction générale des Finances publiques
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Verified
Anyone can ask the ANJ to register them on the voluntary self-exclusion register (interdiction volontaire de jeux), which bars access to casinos, gaming clubs, ANJ-approved online sites and FDJ and PMU games played with a player account; it lasts at least three years, renews tacitly and cannot be lifted in the first three years.
Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative)
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Verified
More than 85,000 people were on the voluntary self-exclusion register in late 2025 (about 40,000 when the ANJ took over the register in 2021, a 25% rise over two years), and about 19,000 registered in 2024; the ANJ relaunched the service online on 18 November 2025 with stronger identity checks and a target of one-day effective registration.
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Verified
Since the Act of 2 March 2022 the ANJ president, not a judge, can order ISPs and search engines to block or de-list sites that offer or advertise illegal gambling, after a first official report, a formal notice to the publisher and host, a five-day period for observations and a second report; the ANJ reports processing takes about two months, against six to nine months under the old judicial procedure.
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Verified
Act No. 2026-725 of 3 August 2026 on the organisation, management and financing of professional sport was promulgated on 3 August and published in the Journal officiel of 4 August 2026, after final adoption by the National Assembly on 20 July and the Senate on 21 July 2026; Légifrance shows a new version of CSI art. L. 320-9-1 in force since 5 August 2026 (modified by article 37) and the current art. L. 320-11 in force only until 1 January 2027.
Sénat, Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative), Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative)
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Verified
In autumn 2024 the Government withdrew a budget amendment that would have legalised online casinos and, on 6 November 2024, the budget minister opened a consultation with stakeholders; the ANJ’s own description of the market still states that casino games, and online slot machines in particular, are not authorised in France.
Ministère de l’Économie (communiqué de presse), Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), Banque des Territoires (Localtis)
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Unverified
Gambling trade press reports that the online-casino consultation stopped when the Barnier government fell in December 2024, that the ANJ confirmed in spring 2026 it had no timetable to resume it, and that no bill is scheduled; none of this was confirmed on a government or ANJ page.
Sources
- Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)Primary source — Offre de jeux et canaux de distribution — https://anj.fr/offre-de-jeu-et-marche/categories-de-jeux-et-canaux-de-distribution
- Légifrance (Direction de l’information légale et administrative)Primary source — Ordonnance n° 2019-1015 du 2 octobre 2019 réformant la régulation des jeux d’argent et de hasard (dossier législatif) — https://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichOrdonnance.do?annee=&idDocument=JORFDOLE000039168176&legislature=&type=general
- Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)Primary source — Bilan 2025 du marché des jeux d’argent : une progression portée par le marché en ligne, la loterie et les casinos — https://anj.fr/bilan-2025-du-marche-des-jeux-dargent
- FDJ UNITEDPrimary source — FDJ UNITED poursuit sa transformation dans un environnement marqué par des facteurs adverses (résultats 2025, communiqué corrigé du 23 février 2026) — https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260223702148/fr