French regulator links heavy betting to obscure leagues and in-play markets
France's gambling regulator, the ANJ, published a 2025 sports betting study on 12 October 2026. It found that players its system flags as excessive place most of the money on little-known leagues and in-play period bets, and it hints that the list of allowed bets could be tightened.
South African bettors can reach hundreds of leagues and in-play markets through licensed bookmakers and offshore sites, with no regulator publishing how risk is spread across them. The French findings suggest that the more obscure and fast the market, the more likely the money is coming from people betting at harmful levels. That is a useful warning for anyone setting their own limits.
What the ANJ published
The Autorité Nationale des Jeux, France's gambling regulator, released a study of 2025 online sports betting by sport on 12 October 2026. Stakes rose 12.0% to about €11.5 billion, and gross gaming revenue rose 10.4% to €1.766 billion. There were 5.27 million active accounts and 3.65 million unique players, with average yearly stakes of €3,159 per bettor.
The headline growth is not the main point for player protection. The study also looks at who places which bets.
The risk findings
The ANJ sorts players into risk groups using its own classification. For the first half of 2026, it says players flagged as excessive or manifestly excessive placed more than 80% of stakes on leagues such as those in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia. For bets on a single period of play, such as a half, a set or a game, those players supplied between 80% and 89% of stakes depending on the sport.
Big events looked different. For the 2026 World Cup, recreational players accounted for around 35% of stakes, or about half when moderate risk players are included.
The regulator is careful here. It says this does not mean those leagues are more addictive in themselves. It reads the pattern as casual bettors simply staying away from them.
Other figures from the study
- Operators paid €180 million in bonuses and similar incentives, about 1.6% of stakes, and 80% of that went to existing customers.
- About 37% of football stakes went on 93 smaller competitions.
- Roughly half of all stakes were placed in play, with live betting around 48% for secondary football competitions.
The ANJ says the findings could support building player protection into decisions about which competitions and bet types are allowed.
What it means for South African players
This is French data and a French rule set, and it does not apply here. It still tells you something practical: fast, repeatable markets on games you barely follow are where heavy betting concentrates. If you notice that you are betting on matches you have no interest in, or placing many small in-play bets, treat that as a signal to pause.
The National Gambling Board has warned about illegal online betting, and help is available through the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation. See our guides on checking whether a site is licensed before you deposit.
What to watch next
Watch whether the ANJ turns this analysis into a proposal to restrict certain competitions or period bets, and whether other regulators publish similar breakdowns.