French betting industry earns more than 800 million USD thanks to World Cup 2018
Not only did they win the World Cup, the French also bet a record amount - nearly $209 million on the 7 matches of the Gallic Roosters.
The French have poured 690 million euros (more than 800 million USD) into betting on this World Cup, through the La Française des Jeux (FDJ) network and online sports betting organizations. This figure is more than double the 2014 World Cup. The amount of money the French bet on the 2014 World Cup was about 336 million USD and Euro 2016 was more than 344 million USD.
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French people celebrate winning the 2018 World Cup in Paris. Photo:Reuters. |
“Players have poured nearly $360 million into FDJ services and more than $440 million into the sites of 12 online betting organizations licensed by the French Online Gaming Authority (Arjel),” said the announcement from Arjel and FDJ.
In addition, these two organizations also said that French bettors bet nearly 78 million USD on the final match between France and Croatia. This is also a record amount of money bet on a football match in France to date.
Following this final in terms of the amount of money bet, respectively, is the France - Belgium match with more than 40 million USD, France - Uruguay with nearly 27 million USD. "In the 7 matches of the French team, players bet nearly 209 million USD, accounting for 26% of the total amount of money poured into the bookmakers," Arjel and FDJ said.
Arjel is an independent administrative body that regulates online games, including sports betting, horse racing, and poker in France. Currently, this agency has licensed 15 businesses such as FDJ, PMU, BetClic, or Winamax - the unit is operating 12 activities in sports betting.
