French Gambling Reaches €5B H1 Turnover 

France’s national gambling Authority (ANJ) is an independent body that reports to the Parliament and is responsible for regulating licensed gambling and betting games while overseeing responsible gambling policies for casinos. According to fresh data from the authority, the country’s sector has experienced an increase of more than 7% in the total turnover for the first half of the year. The H1 turnover rise has been signaled in spite of the decline in France’s online gaming revenue.

France’s Monopolies helped the YoY Turnover Reach €5B ($4.9B)

Française des Jeux (FDJ) and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) represent the two big monopolies in the country. FDJ is France’s national lottery and also the leading company in the gambling and entertainment sectors. It is ranked second in European lotteries and fourth in a global ranking for lotteries. PMU is the leading horse betting operator in France and the third horse betting operator at a global level. The company also provides gaming aficionados with online poker and other sports options. Together, the two monopolies managed to trigger an overall boost in the total year-on-year turnover of €5 billion ($4.9 billion).

FDJ Recorded 10% YoY Growth in Stakes 

FDJ alone reached stakes that totaled over €10 billion ($9.94 billion), up 10% on a YoY basis from 2021’s €9.1 billion ($9.04 billion). The operator recorded a strong 17% growth in its lottery revenue with the help of all of its points of sale being open to the public in 2022. During the first half of 2021, 10% of all points of sale were shut down due to the restrictions.

FDJ’s gross gaming revenue for the first half of the current year reached the €3.2 billion ($3.18 billion) mark, signaling a 12% rise which the ANJ explained through the operator’s lottery activities that went up 17% to €8 billion ($7.95 billion).

At the same time, FDJ also had to increase its marketing expenditure by 13%, together with a 25% increase in its expenditure related to lottery marketing. The operator’s EBITDA went up by 18% to €308 million ($306 million), with a 25.4% margin compared to 24.1% in the first half of last year. 

PMU Almost Returned to Pre-Pandemic Numbers 

PMU’s stakes increased by 18%, reaching €3.9 billion ($3.87 billion) on a YoY basis, almost recording the numbers prior to the pandemic. PMU’s gross gaming revenue went up 15%, reaching the €969 million ($964 million) mark. The positive numbers came as a result of all specific Covid-19 health restrictions being lifted at its points of sale, which encouraged bettors to physically return to their favorite shops while abandoning the online gambling alternative. 

This was clearly reflected in PMU’s online horse racing betting gross gaming revenue that reached €727 million ($723 million) in H1 2022. The number represented a 17% YoY decrease compared to H1 2021 which was “undoubtedly” attributed to the strong comeback of betting in person. 

Finally, the good numbers were reached in spite of the iGaming sector experiencing a 11% drop in gross gaming revenue, going under €1.1 billion ($1.09 billion) in H1 2022. At the end of April, ANJ reported an important rise in interactive gambling to €2.2 billion ($2.36 billion) during the fiscal year 2021.