Blask: Offshore brands took 83.9% of French online gambling searches in late September and October

Analytics platform Blask has published a report on the French gambling market indicating that channelisation remains a major weakness. According to the data, searches for offshore brands made up 83.9% of online gambling searches in France between 29 September and 12 October, compared with 67.5% in the period from 7 to 20 September.

The jump did not benefit licensed operators, whose segment stayed largely flat. Blask found that nine of the ten most popular operators in the country were offshore. The two leading brands were gtBet and Leon, which together accounted for most of the searches. Betclic was the only licensed operator in the ranking, placing eighth.

France's rules shape this picture. Apart from land-based casinos, the country permits online sports betting, online horse race betting and online poker, but it does not allow online casino games. All online casino traffic therefore goes to unlicensed platforms. The licensed sector has also slowed: operator revenues grew just 0.5% year-on-year in the first half of the year. Online sports betting did well thanks to a boost from the World Cup, but offshore competition continues to add pressure.

Authorities have kept up enforcement. The national regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), regularly works with internet service providers to block unlicensed sites. Last year, law enforcement dismantled one of the largest online gambling rings in French history, a criminal enterprise focused solely on online gambling that earned an estimated $1.2 billion. The network even ran a YouTube channel with 900,000 subscribers.

France has also acted against prediction markets. The ANJ instructed internet service providers to block access to Polymarket and noted that advertising the platform is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to $114,000. Germany, Italy and Spain have introduced similar restrictions. Even so, the recent data suggest that French users are increasingly turning to offshore platforms, which, together with the stagnant regulated market, may strengthen calls for reform.