Online betting: the sports generating the biggest revenues in 2025 

In France, online sports betting continued to grow in 2025 despite the absence of a major international sporting event. But behind these results, an analysis by the ANJ reveals contrasting trends depending on the sport, the competition and the profile of bettors. 

A fast-growing market, even without a major event 

The French online sports betting market did not need a World Cup or European Championship to grow in 2025. Stakes reached €11.517 billion, an increase of 12% compared with the previous year. Gross gaming revenue (GGR), corresponding to stakes minus winnings paid back to players, stood at €1.766 billion, up 10.4%. 

This performance confirms the momentum already seen in 2024. However, not all sports contribute to this growth in the same way. 

In a study examining the drivers of growth in the sector, the ANJ highlights two dominant disciplines: football and tennis. The regulator also points to the role played by the expansion of competitions available for betting and by operators’ management of odds. 

PSG and the Champions League drive betting activity 

Football remains the main economic driver of online sports betting in France. In 2025, it accounted for 54.9% of stakes, contributed nearly half of the growth in betting volumes and represented around two thirds of the increase in gross gaming revenue. 

Its annual growth reached 10.2%. However, the ANJ says this figure should be put into perspective: 2024 had benefited from Euro 2024, which alone generated €438 million in stakes. Depending on the method used to neutralise this comparison effect, football’s actual growth rate was between 10% and 19%. 

One explanation lies in the new Champions League format. The number of matches available for betting increased from 137 in 2024 to 189 in 2025, a rise of 38%. 

At the same time, stakes on the competition increased by 48.6%. According to the ANJ, three quarters of this growth came directly from the increase in the number of matches rather than from a sharp rise in the amount wagered on each fixture. 

Not all European competitions benefited from the same effect, however. Despite similar format changes, the Europa League and Conference League recorded only limited growth. 

The involvement of French clubs was also a key factor. The two matches that attracted the highest betting volumes in 2025 were finals played by Paris Saint-Germain, with €38.2 million and €26.7 million wagered respectively. 

The Club World Cup makes an immediate impact in its first edition 

The new Club World Cup illustrates how quickly a competition can attract bettors. 

With its 63-match format, it generated an average of €3.9 million in stakes per match in its first edition. This performance came close to that of the Champions League, which averaged €4.4 million per fixture. 

The relatively small gap between the two competitions shows that a new tournament can quickly establish itself in the sports betting market, provided it generates enough interest. 

Tennis confirms its position as the second major growth driver 

Behind football, tennis plays a central role in the betting habits of French players. The sport accounted for 23% of stakes recorded in 2025, with annual growth of 16%. 

Unlike football, this increase was not driven by an exceptional event. It occurred within the regular competition calendar. Another distinctive feature is that betting is highly concentrated on the main tournament categories. Seven categories alone account for 94% of the amounts wagered on tennis. 

This structure contrasts with football, where betting is spread across a much larger number of competitions. 

Basketball also shows a high level of concentration: the North American professional league, the NBA, accounts for 54% of betting on the sport. 

Betting heavily driven by excessive gamblers 

The ANJ studied football bets recorded during the first half of 2026. The analysis highlights a relationship between the prominence of competitions and the share of bets placed by players identified as excessive or clearly excessive gamblers. 

The most popular competitions, including the 2026 World Cup, record a higher proportion of stakes from recreational bettors. 

By contrast, more than 80% of stakes on leagues in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan or Australia come from players classified in the excessive or clearly excessive categories. 

The ANJ nevertheless urges caution in interpreting these findings. These competitions are not necessarily more addictive than others. They also represent only a small proportion of the total stakes placed by the players concerned. Their particular profile may mainly be explained by the relatively low level of interest among recreational bettors in these leagues. 

Return to player rate, a key lever for operators 

In France, the return to player (RTP) rate for online sports betting is capped at 85%, calculated as an annual average for each operator. This rate measures the proportion of stakes redistributed in the form of winnings. 

In 2025, the market-wide RTP stood at 84.67%, very close to the regulatory ceiling. In September, sporting results favourable to bettors pushed the monthly return rate to 94.5%. The cumulative market rate then reached 85.9%, temporarily exceeding the annual cap. 

The following two months marked a sharp reversal. The monthly RTP fell to 82.3% in October and then to 74.2% in November. By the end of that month, the cumulative rate had returned to 84.67%. 

According to the ANJ, this sequence appears to reflect an adjustment in the odds offered by operators towards the end of the financial year. 

Growth that raises questions about player protection 

The study published by the ANJ shows that the growth of online sports betting is based on several complementary mechanisms. 

Football benefits from the expansion of its calendar and the popularity of major teams. Tennis is growing without the help of an exceptional event, while secondary competitions help maintain a betting offering at different times of the day. 

However, the analysis also reveals a particularly high concentration of betting by excessive gamblers on certain less-publicised leagues and on bets involving short periods of play. 

For the regulator, the issue now goes beyond measuring economic growth alone: it also concerns how betting offers are designed, presented and regulated.