Is online gambling legal in France?
The law of 12 May 2010 opened three online verticals to competition: sports betting, pool horse race betting and poker, each under a five-year ANJ agrément. Lotteries and retail sports betting are the exclusive rights of FDJ United, retail horse betting belongs to PMU, and land-based casinos are licensed separately. Online casino is prohibited; the government's October 2024 attempt to legalize it through the 2025 budget was withdrawn. Since 1 July 2025 online sports betting carries public levies of 59.3% of GGR, online poker pays 10% of GGR and a 15% tax applies to advertising spend.
| Vertical | Status in France |
|---|---|
| Online casino | Prohibited |
| Sports betting | Regulated |
| Online poker | Regulated |
| Lottery | Monopoly |
| Social casino (free to play) | Permitted |
Partially regulated: Some verticals are licensed (usually betting); others are prohibited or unaddressed.
Who regulates gambling in France?
- Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) — Independent authority that licenses online betting and poker operators, supervises FDJ United and PMU, approves promotional strategies, orders blocking of illegal sites and oversees casino responsible-gaming policies
France gambling licence: how it works
An operator applies to the ANJ for a separate agrément for each category: online sports betting, online pool horse race betting and online poker. The applicant must be established in an EU or EEA member state and meet the cahier des charges on financial capacity, integrity, IT security, anti-fraud and player protection. The ANJ decides within four months of a complete file; the agrément lasts five years, is renewable and cannot be transferred. Licensees give the ANJ real-time access to a data capture system (the frontal), certify their systems within six months of launch and then annually, and operate under a .fr domain. Seventeen operators held agréments in 2025.
What an applicant needs
- Legal entity established in an EU or EEA member state, one application per game category
- Evidence of financial capacity, ownership transparency and integrity of directors and shareholders
- Data capture system (frontal) giving the ANJ access to every bet and account event
- Certification of the gaming system within six months of launch and annually thereafter
- Player-protection program: identity checks, self-set limits, national self-exclusion file integration
- Anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering procedures aligned to French AML law
- A .fr domain and a French-language offer
Gambling taxes in France
- Operators: Since 1 July 2025 (LFSS 2025, article 32): online sports betting carries combined public levies of 59.3% of GGR, including a 15% social contribution (up from 10.6%); online poker pays 10% of GGR (previously 0.2% of stakes); retail sports betting pays 42.1% of GGR. Corporate income tax applies on top.
- Players: None; winnings from licensed games are not taxed as personal income.
- Also: A 15% tax on advertising and promotional expenditure applies to all gambling operators from 1 July 2025. FDJ United estimated the full-year impact of the 2025 increases on its own business at about €90 million.
Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments
Advertising
Legal but closely regulated. Operators submit annual promotional strategies to the ANJ, which can demand changes; advertising must not target minors or self-excluded players, must carry responsible-gaming messaging and must not present gambling as a source of income. Every euro of advertising and promotional spend is taxed at 15% since July 2025. Betting on esports competitions is banned.
Responsible gaming
Players set deposit and stake limits at registration, can self-exclude and can register on the national gambling ban file (interdiction de jeux), which lasts at least three years and covers casinos, licensed online sites and FDJ and PMU accounts. Operators must detect excessive play and display warnings and helpline information.
Identity and age verification
Age 18 and over. Identity, address and bank details are verified against documents before an account is fully activated; the ANJ's sanctions commission fined an operator €500,000 in June 2026 for identification failures.
Payments
Deposits and withdrawals run through regulated payment providers: cards, bank transfer and e-wallets, with winnings paid to an account in the player's name. Licensed operators do not accept cryptoassets. In July 2026 the ANJ ordered ISPs to block the prediction market Polymarket for promoting an unauthorized offer.
Notable restrictions
- Online casino games (slots, roulette, blackjack, live dealer) are illegal for any operator
- Online horse race betting is pool betting only
- Betting on esports competitions is prohibited
- Lotteries and scratch cards are reserved to FDJ United, retail horse betting to PMU
- Licensed sites must use a .fr domain and give the ANJ real-time data access
- The ANJ can order ISP blocking of illegal sites without a court order
France iGaming market: size, players and payments
The ANJ reported total GGR of €14.1 billion in 2025 (+3%), with the competitive online segment at €2.617 billion (+8.6%), or 18.5% of the market: online sports betting €1.766 billion on €11.5 billion of stakes, online poker €525 million, online horse betting €326 million. The government estimated the illegal online casino market at up to €1.5 billion a year in 2024.
4.2 million unique online players and 6.1 million active accounts in 2025 (ANJ); 3.6 million people bet on sport online.
Most online betting is placed on mobile apps; the ANJ recorded €1.3 billion of online stakes during the 2026 World Cup, more than double the previous edition.
Seventeen ANJ-licensed operators compete online, led by Betclic, Winamax, Unibet, PMU and FDJ United's Parions Sport en Ligne; FDJ United's lottery and retail betting still make up almost half of national GGR.
Timeline: how France got here
- 2010-05Law 2010-476 opens online sports betting, horse race betting and poker to licensed competition; ARJEL created
- 2019-10Ordinance creates the Autorité nationale des jeux, operational from June 2020
- 2024-05SREN law creates the experimental JONUM regime for games with monetizable digital objects
- 2024-10Government amendment to legalize online casino in the 2025 budget is withdrawn after casino-sector opposition
- 2024-11Consultation on online casino launched with the ANJ; it stalls when the government falls in December
- 2025-07LFSS 2025 tax increases take effect: 59.3% all-in levy on online sports betting, 10% GGR levy on poker, 15% tax on advertising spend
- 2026-02JONUM implementing decrees complete the Web3 gaming regime
- 2026-04ANJ publishes its 2025 review: record €14.1 billion GGR, online at 18.5%
Outlook
No bill to legalize online casino was before Parliament as of September 2026, and the 2026 Finance Act debates did not reopen the question; the ANJ says the decision belongs to the legislature and would need a stricter framework than for other games. Expect continued blocking of illegal casino sites, a push for payment-blocking powers and close monitoring of how the July 2025 tax increases affect channeling.
Launching in France with GameBridge
Turnkey (your licence, our platform). The ANJ agrément is held by the operator, so a French brand runs on GameBridge under the operator's own licence for sports betting and poker; GameBridge holds no French agrément and casino content is switched off for France.
A French brand on GameBridge is configured as a sportsbook and poker product with French as the site language, a euro wallet and geo-controls that admit only French residents. Casino and live-casino lobbies are disabled for French traffic, and the bonus engine follows the operator's ANJ-approved promotional strategy. Limit prompts at registration, self-exclusion checks against the national ban file and the ANJ data feed are configured in the compliance layer, and the certification package supports the six-month and annual certification cycle.
- French site language and euro wallet
- Sportsbook and poker enabled, casino verticals geo-disabled for France
- Limit setting at registration and self-exclusion file integration
- Regulator data export aligned to the ANJ frontal requirement
- Bonus engine constrained to the approved promotional strategy
- Ad-spend reporting for the 15% promotional tax
France is a betting-led market where football and tennis drive stakes and poker tournaments are growing again; GameBridge's sportsbook and poker modules apply, and the casino catalog stays off for French players until the law changes.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in France?
Will France legalize online casinos?
How do you get a French online gambling licence?
What is the gambling tax rate in France?
Which payment methods do French players use?
How does GameBridge support operators in France?
Sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.
- Bilan 2025 du marché des jeux d'argent — Autorité nationale des jeux, accessed 2026-09-11
- Demander un agrément — Autorité nationale des jeux, accessed 2026-09-11
- Loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale 2025 : ce qui change — Ministère de l'Économie, accessed 2026-09-11
- 2025 outlook affected by increased taxes on betting and gaming in France — FDJ United, accessed 2026-09-11
- France aims to allow online casinos next year — France 24, accessed 2026-09-11
- Regulating gambling in France in the digital age: from casinos to Web3 — IMGL Magazine, accessed 2026-09-11
Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.