France’s sports betting licence holders have been warned over their advertising and marketing conduct ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The alert comes from the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), as French authorities prepare for a World Cup that is set to be the most heavily engaged with amongst domestic audiences across television, digital media and betting platforms.
With France entering the tournament as one of the favourites, the regulator believes betting activity could surpass the record €900m wagered during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The ANJ estimates that total betting stakes could reach as much as €1.2bn, depending on the progress of Didier Deschamps’ side.
As France’s gambling regulator, the ANJ has reviewed the World Cup advertising plans of 18 licensed online sportsbooks to ensure that promotional messaging remains compliant and does not encourage excessive gambling behaviour.
In its latest consumer study, the regulator identified signs of growing betting appetite among French consumers, noting that: “French bettors are also more likely than in previous tournaments to say they will spend more money than before, with 30% in 2026 compared to 19% in 2022. Unsurprisingly, matches involving the French national team generate the greatest betting interest, followed by high-stakes knockout fixtures.”
The findings have prompted the regulator to launch a new public awareness campaign, Zone à Risques (Risk Zones), designed to highlight the dangers associated with excessive sports betting during major sporting events.
Created by agency LIBRE, the campaign transforms the yellow legal warning banner featured on gambling advertisements into a visible danger zone. Through public installations and digital media, the campaign demonstrates how bettors can become trapped in cycles of chasing losses, increasing stakes and ultimately losing control of their gambling activity.
The campaign represents one of the final public interventions of ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, whose six-year mandate concludes on 15 June.
In what may be viewed as a final warning to the industry, Falque-Pierrotin stated: “As this World Cup approaches, we are entering a risk zone with several warning lights flashing red for the regulator: a greater number of matches and therefore more advertising and betting opportunities, while at the same time we are observing a rise in the number of excessive gamblers and their contribution to operators’ revenues.”
The outgoing President also highlighted concerns regarding rising betting intentions among younger consumers and the growing contribution of excessive gambling to operator revenues.
Falque-Pierrotin’s departure marks the end of a significant chapter in French gambling regulation. Last month, the French government nominated Pascal Chevremont to succeed her as President of the ANJ.
A senior Treasury official and graduate of the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), Chevremont was proposed by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and approved by the French Presidency.
His appointment is expected to be formally ratified by President Emmanuel Macron following parliamentary review procedures later this month. Chevremont will inherit a regulatory agenda centred on strengthening consumer protections and enhancing the monitoring of gambling-related harms.
Among the ANJ’s key projects is the implementation of a new behavioural algorithm designed to identify patterns of excessive gambling and provide regulators with a more accurate measurement of problem gambling across France’s online betting market.
The regulator unveiled the algorithm earlier this year as part of its broader data-led supervision strategy. The system is intended to analyse player behaviour across licensed operators and identify risk indicators before gambling harm escalates.
The ANJ hopes to deploy the framework by the end of 2026, creating what would become one of Europe’s most advanced regulatory monitoring systems for gambling-related harm.
For the regulator, the World Cup will serve not only as the largest betting event on the French calendar but also as a critical test of whether operators can balance commercial ambitions with increasingly stringent expectations around player protection.
