French betting industry earns over $800 million thanks to World Cup 2018
Not only did they win the World Cup, the French also bet a record amount - nearly $209 million on 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 poured nearly $360 million into FDJ’s services and more than $440 million into the sites of 12 online betting organizations licensed by the French Online Gaming Authority (Arjel),” Arjel and FDJ said in a statement.
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.
The final was followed by France-Belgium with over $40 million and France-Uruguay with nearly $27 million. “In France’s seven matches, bettors placed nearly $209 million, accounting for 26% of the total amount of money poured into bookmakers,” Arjel and FDJ said.
Arjel is an independent administrative body that regulates online games, including sports betting, horse racing, 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.
