France's gambling regulator has found that players it identified as excessive or manifestly excessive generated between 80% and 89% of stakes placed on period-result bets in Q2 2026, depending on the sport.
The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) analysed bets on outcomes within a match, including a half, quarter, set or game. Such markets can be used for in-play betting. It said the finding could eventually support incorporating player protection into the rules governing which betting markets operators may offer. The regulator has not announced a rule change.
The analysis forms part of a new study of the forces behind French online sports betting growth. Gross gaming revenue reached €1.766bn ($1.97bn) in 2025, up 10.4% year-on-year, while stakes increased 12% to €11.517bn.
Football accounted for 54.9% of stakes and contributed almost half of the segment's increase in stakes. It also drove around two-thirds of gross gaming revenue growth. Tennis represented another 23% of stakes and grew 16% without a single exceptional event driving the result.
The ANJ found that a larger competition schedule was an important contributor to football's performance. The Champions League expanded from 137 matches in 2024 to 189 in 2025, a 38% increase, while stakes on the competition rose 48.6%. About three-quarters of that rise came from the additional matches rather than higher average stakes per match.
Other football competitions showed a different betting pattern. In-play bets represented 26% of Champions League stakes but 48% of stakes on lower-profile competitions. The share reached 50% to 58% for certain European second divisions and unlisted championships.
The regulator separately examined football stakes in H1 2026. Players flagged for excessive gambling generated more than 80% of stakes on leagues in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia.
The ANJ cautioned that this does not establish that those competitions are inherently more addictive. It said the pattern may reflect limited interest from recreational bettors.
For the regulator, the combined findings raise a question about how the breadth and timing of sports betting offers interact with player protection. Its analysis identifies a possible policy direction, while leaving any proposed change to the authorised betting list for a separate process.
In April, Global Gaming Insider examined ANJ's wider 2025 market report, which also covered lotteries, casinos and online poker alongside sports betting.
The ANJ's annual cap on the proportion of sports betting stakes returned to players is 85% per operator
