Gambling Taxation in France
Operator levies on gross gaming revenue, the 2025 increase, and how players’ winnings are treated
Last verified: 2026-10-05
France taxes gambling on operators’ gross gaming revenue; levies rose from 1 July 2025, taking online sports betting to a reported 59.3% of GGR. Players’ winnings are generally not taxed as income, though this record’s source for that is a 2011 Government answer.
Gambling taxation in France
Overview
French gambling taxation falls on operators and is levied on gross gaming revenue. The social security financing act for 2025 (Act No. 2025-199 of 28 February 2025, article 32) raised the rates from 1 July 2025. According to the Ministry of the Economy, the lottery social contribution rose 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%, and operators also began paying a 15% annual charge on their advertising and promotion spending.
FDJ UNITED’s 2025 results translate this into total public levies as a share of GGR: 59.3% for online sports betting (from 54.9%), 42.1% for retail sports betting, 69.0% for Loto and Euromillions, and 10.0% of GGR for online poker. These are an operator’s disclosed figures rather than statute text, and the bases differ by category. The 15% annual advertising and promotion charge introduced from 1 July 2025 is retained here as a verified tax measure. The separate reported 2026 clarification concerning the treatment of advertising expenditure for other businesses is not presented as an established statutory fact.
For players, winnings from games of pure chance are generally not treated as taxable income merely because play is habitual. However, 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.
Public levies 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) | ✓ |
Levy rates by game category. [1]
The 2025 financing act, article 32. [2]
Current BOFiP guidance on taxation of games of chance and professional poker gains. [3]
Key facts
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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
From 1 July 2025 gambling operators also pay an annual 15% charge on their advertising and promotion spending (horse-race betting excluded, according to FDJ UNITED); FDJ UNITED notes that gambling taxation is levied on GGR and reports €5.1 billion of contribution to French public finances in 2025, of which €4.8 billion was public levies on games.
Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle, énergétique et numérique, FDJ UNITED
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Unverified
The 2026 social security financing act (Act No. 2025-1403 of 30 December 2025) is reported to clarify that the 15% gambling advertising charge is based only on advertising and media-buying expenses for gambling activity, not an operator’s advertising for other businesses such as hotels or restaurants.
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Unverified
As a rule, players’ winnings from games of chance are not taxable income in France even when play is habitual, while professional poker players’ winnings can be taxed as non-commercial profits; this rests on a 2011 Government answer to a parliamentary question and has not been re-checked against current tax doctrine (BOFiP).
Sources
- 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
- Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle, énergétique et numériquePrimary source — Loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale 2025 : ce qui change — https://www.economie.gouv.fr/actualites/loi-de-financement-de-la-securite-sociale-2025-ce-qui-change
- Direction générale des Finances publiquesPrimary source — BOFiP - BNC - Jeux de hasard et activités générant des bénéfices non commerciaux — https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/2824-PGP.html/identifiant=BOI-BNC-CHAMP-10-10-20-40-20230628