France’s leading addiction network, Fédération Addiction, has called for a complete ban on athletes and sports personalities promoting sports betting.
In a statement, the organisation set out 15 urgent measures to regulate the sports betting sector, with the ban on those involved in sports promoting gambling one of the most striking.
Among the other proposals are calls for banning advertising during live sports broadcasts; a halt to the expansion of the market until player protection, prevention, and support mechanisms have been significantly strengthened; a ban on gambling sponsorships in sport; and a removal of offers, bonuses and incentives that encourage more betting or higher stakes.
It comes ahead of France’s first game in the 2026 World Cup later tonight, as Les Blues head into the tournament as joint-favourites in their bid to win the Jules Rimet Trophy for a third time.
Another gambling-related gripe in France
Just last week, popular French sports outlet l’Équipe reported that senior figures in the France squad, including Kylian Mbappé and Rayan Cherki, have demanded for an intervention from the France Football Federation (FFF) after images of them were used by French gambling giant Betclic.
Betclic is reported to have taken the images of the French team in the national training camp of Clairefontaine, with the players involved claiming that they were never informed that images of them would be used by a bookmaker.
The calls for more stringent measures come despite the French market having the toughest tax regime in Europe.
Public levies rate for online sports betting currently stands at 59.3% of gross gaming revenue (GGR), point-of-sale public levies is 42.1% of GGR, and online poker public levies is 10% of GGR.
But even though the market is a tough one for operators, players still wager heavily in France, with GGR hitting €2bn (£1.72bn) in the second half of 2025.
Of this €2bn, €1.2bn was generated by what the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s gambling regulator, described as high-risk players.
With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar seeing nearly €600m wagered on it in France, Fédération Addiction is proposing a clampdown to prevent a more affluent gambling industry which may result in a higher proportion of these high-risk players.
France’s “genuine public health emergency”
Fédération Addiction said that sports betting represents the main entry point into gambling for young people and therefore needs to be addressed.
It has raised a plethora of concerns regarding advertising. “Betting operators deliberately blur the lines between passion for sport and the incentive to gamble,” wrote Benjamin Tubiana-Rey, Head of Advocacy and Communication for Fédération Addiction.
“For many fans, betting now appears as a normal part of the sporting experience. These marketing strategies are not neutral: they primarily target young men, particularly those from underprivileged neighborhoods, who now constitute the core target audience for the growth of sports betting.”
Tubiana-Rey also highlighted the potential risks of gambling addiction, which may come as a result of players being introduced to casino gambling through sports betting.
He described the issue as a “genuine public health emergency”, while citing the aforementioned ANJ data.
“The consequences of problem gambling can be severe: debt, loss of control, psychological distress, suicidal risk, family, academic, or professional difficulties, and financial crime,” he continued.
“It also exacerbates social inequalities, as those who are most economically vulnerable are also the most susceptible to the financial consequences of excessive gambling. Addiction professionals are seeing an increasing number of gamblers in difficulty, even though prevention, harm reduction, and support services remain inadequately funded.
“Faced with the continued rise in gambling and the increasing prevalence of problem gambling, we are now confronted with a genuine public health emergency.”
Operator interest remains after bet365 entry
With a recent market entry from global giant bet365, gambling harm prevention proponents may well be all the more concerned as hype around a new operator in the market grows.
And despite the heavy regulations, companies like bet365 clearly see opportunity in France, with the regularity of betting in the country likely to be a key driver.
While the ANJ has evidently pulled out the stops to make profitability a tough feat to achieve, observers still hold concerns for player protection as the prevalence of gambling in the country remains rife.
