| Updated: September 25, 2025With a long history of gambling and significant contributions to the development of fan-favorite games such as roulette, France remains a gambling hotbed today. France’s gambling market has experienced significant growth in recent years, largely because the government opened the market to competition and introduced online gambling regulations.
Following this profound transformation, the online gambling segment has continued to grow, and the share of French people who place their bets online doubled between 2010 and 2019. French players’ love of casino games has not gone unnoticed by operators, who strive to cater to even the most discerning players with diverse game libraries, special deals, attentive customer support, and seamless mobile play, to name just a few.
Casino Sites in France
To enjoy themselves while betting online, gambling enthusiasts should have full confidence that their chosen casino is up to standard in all major areas. Although players have different tastes in casino games, they should also make sure that the operator is reliable and passes muster when it comes to payments, security, mobile betting, and customer support, to name a few.
Fortunately for players in France, premium-quality online casinos are plentiful, so they are unlikely to have a hard time finding a platform that meets all their expectations.
Best Casino Bonuses in France
Players are often drawn to online casinos rather than their land-based counterparts because operators typically shower both new and returning users with a variety of bonuses. These special deals, available immediately after registration and throughout a player’s journey, are casino-specific and can vary considerably from one platform to another.
To make a player’s experience truly memorable, operators occasionally roll out attention-grabbing sign-up offers. Depending on the casino, these promotions may be triggered after newcomers fund their accounts for the first time, but some sites also provide no-deposit welcome deals. The latter require no qualifying deposit and may grant a batch of free spins or a fixed bonus amount.
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When it comes to deposit-based welcome bonuses, players should know that the reward may be granted solely on the first deposit or spread across several deposits.
The French regulator, the ANJ, recently issued guidelines for bonus offers. It emphasized that promotional language must be clear and unambiguous and recommended a €100 cap on no-deposit welcome bonuses, whether they are part of a package or offered individually. These recommendations are not yet binding, but players should still be aware of them.
Free Spins
Promotions aimed at slot enthusiasts are also extremely popular, and free spins can be offered as stand-alone rewards or bundled with match bonuses. Depending on the specific promotion, winnings from free spins may be subject to wagering requirements or may be credited directly to a player’s real-money balance.
Cashback Bonuses
Some online casinos compensate users for a portion of their losses through rebate bonuses. If a player’s betting session has been unproductive over a set period, the casino may allow them to recoup part of the money lost. Players should remember, however, that the sums returned through cashback deals are usually modest.
Refer a Friend Bonuses
Many online casinos encourage their members to invite friends to register. When the referral is successful, the existing player receives a bonus, the size of which varies by casino.
VIP Bonuses
Reload, birthday, and loyalty bonuses are additional recurring incentives that players may receive while betting online. To evaluate whether a promotion is worthwhile, gamblers should carefully review its terms, including wagering requirements, game contribution, and other conditions.
Casino Regulation in France
France, a country with a Christian-Catholic tradition, long maintained a ban on gambling activities. While games of chance were once illegal, over time several exceptions were introduced, gradually legalizing certain forms of gambling. Consequently, French gambling laws still rest on a principle of general prohibition tempered by specific exemptions.
The French National Lottery now has the right to offer sports betting and lottery games, while Pari Mutuel Urbain is authorized to provide horse-race betting.
In October 2019, the government received approval to reform gambling regulation through the Ordinance of 2 October 2019. This ordinance brought significant changes, including the creation of a new regulator to supervise both Pari Mutuel Urbain and the FDJ. The National Gambling Authority (ANJ) assumed the responsibilities of the former Online Gambling Regulation Authority and was granted expanded powers.
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The ANJ is the authority that grants approvals to sports-betting and online-casino operators. Its remit was recently expanded, and the ANJ can now instruct Internet service providers to block platforms that offer illegal gambling. Operators targeting French players without authorization face criminal penalties. The ANJ has also proposed measures to block financial flows to such sites.
When it comes to players, French legislation does not impose penalties on residents who participate in illegal online gambling, but they should be aware that they enjoy no protection when doing so.
Brick-and-mortar casinos may open only after operators complete a specific licensing procedure and obtain approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Online casinos may serve French players only if they hold an ANJ license, and an applicant must be headquartered in an EU or EEA state.
The PMU and FDJ’s monopoly over online gambling ended with the adoption of the Online Gambling Law. Since then, licensed private operators have been allowed to offer three types of gambling services: ring-deck card games, horse racing, and sports betting. To date, poker remains the only authorized card game because other casino games are deemed excessively addictive.
Although many private companies have expressed interest in entering the French market, only 15 operators are currently authorized, including the PMU and FDJ.
The legal gambling age was formerly 21, but in 1983 the minimum age was lowered to 18.
Gambling Regulators
Depending on the nature of the gambling activity and, crucially, whether it occurs online or offline, several administrative bodies oversee the sector. The Ministry of Home Affairs issues licenses for all land-based gambling establishments. All forms of online gambling are regulated by the ANJ, a public entity created through industry reforms between 2015 and 2019.