World Cup group stage sets French online betting record at 650 million euros | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, French online bettors have already staked 650 million euros by the end of the World Cup group stage, surpassing the 587 million euros across the whole of Qatar 2022.

The tournament features 48 teams for the first time, previously 32. In 2022, group-stage stakes were 323 million euros. The biggest volumes were on Norway-France 1-4 (26 June), France-Senegal 3-1 (16 June) and France-Iraq 3-0 (23 June).

In early June, regulator ANJ said that, given market growth and the new format, total stakes around 1.2 billion euros could be reached.

Globally, predictive markets have reshaped betting. Lightly regulated and priced like trading, the space is led by US firms Polymarket, which uses cryptocurrency, and Kalshi, whose strategic adviser is Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the President of the United States.

These platforms are banned in France and host wagers on results, in-game events and political elections. FIFA entered the space in late April with a multi-year deal with ADI PredictStreet. Since the World Cup began on 11 June, activity on these platforms is near 5 billion dollars, more than 4 billion euros, and total betting and prediction volume by the end of the tournament is estimated at 240 billion dollars, 210 billion euros, roughly double 2022.

Source: L'Équipe