French football fans wagered nearly €600 million online on the 2022 World Cup as bookmakers broke revenue records.
According to data released by the national authority on the game, l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), around 597 million euros were invested by French gamblers, who saw their selection lose to Argentina in the final.
The ANJ said that while the results recorded at FDJ points of sale have yet to be published, the move to online and retail could exceed €900m.
Some 54 million bets were placed, which was more than double that of 2018, while the €51 million placed on the final between France and Argentina created a new record for a single game and surpassed the €38 million wagered on the 2018 final. between France and Croatia. Around 2.6 million player accounts placed a bet during the competition, representing 2.2 million unique players.
The competition generated gross gaming revenue of €70m, well above 2018, but the ANJ said it was evidence of a slowdown in the growth of online sports betting.
Over the course of 2022, online betting GGR increased by just 2.5% year-on-year, compared to 44% in 2021 and 7% in 2020. The authority said the rapid growth in the previous two years was due to changes behaviors linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
New betting accounts
ANJ also said that 177,000 new players created an account during the competition, down from the 232,000 accounts opened in 2018. big sporting event.
While players bet more than in 2018, the value of unit bets was € 11, slightly lower than in the previous edition. At the end of the World Cup in Qatar, 70% of the accounts were negative, 23% were positive and 6% were balanced. Only 1% won more than 10 times their stake.
Regulated advertising by bookmakers
ANJ noticed less aggressive advertising during the World Cup after persuading agencies, audiovisual professionals and game operators to sign a letter of commitment to moderate pressure and promote responsible commercial communication.
ANJ launched an action plan before the tournament to “de-intensify” advertising pressure in all media and reinforce the protection of minors and at-risk audiences, in particular on digital platforms.
Several prevention campaigns were carried out by public institutions before and during the major sporting event. These three campaigns, launched by Santé Publique France, the General Council of Seine-Saint-Denis and the ANJ, raised the general public’s awareness of the risks of problem gambling and excessive gambling, using different approaches.
“As expected, the Football World Cup was a highlight on the 2022 sports betting calendar, with online betting hitting records,” says a statement from the ANJ. “This economic result confirms the true craze for sports betting, which is, for many bettors, an inseparable practice of football”.
“With regard to advertising, content has become more standardised, and commitments made by operators to reduce advertising pressure have generally been respected. However, the massive use of sponsorship and influence of the program are points of vigilance for the regulator and responses will have to be given in the near future.”
