As betting companies gear up their marketing campaigns for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024, the French betting regulator has initiated a campaign to address potential problem gambling around the tournament.
Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the French national betting authority, cited data showing that around 55% of French people say they intend to follow the competition. The authority expects many of these French football fans to bet on the tournament, particularly if France has a strong performance.
The regulator’s campaign aims to focus on betting as a recreational and controlled activity. The campaign hopes to make an impression by “bringing to life the legal notices” which appear on betting adverts, and which the regulator thinks “few people actually look at”.
ANJ hopes to achieve this by telling real stories of betting addiction to strengthen its message, and include links to the Evalujeu site. This site allows people to evaluate playing practices and obtain appropriate advice to maintain control.
Explaining the reasoning behind its campaign, ANJ pointed to the significant betting volume generated during Euro 2020 in 2021 – the tournament having been delayed due to COVID. The tournament generated stakes of €700m across retail and online channels in France, and this was repeated at the 2022 World Cup, with €900m in stakes.
The authority stated: “Given the evolution of the sports betting market and the stakes recorded during the last competitions, a stake amount approaching €1bn could be reached. The course of the French team will nevertheless be decisive in the amount of stakes.”
ANJ added: “If more than half of the people who plan to follow the Euro football plan to make a friendly bet with their loved ones, more than a third intend to bet money on the matches (35%) and 44 % among those under 35.
“The French team’s matches are those which generate the most betting intentions.”
The Euros is expected to be a huge marketing opportunity across Europe, and various companies have been seeking exposure via official partnerships with UEFA or by initiating their own marketing campaigns.
Betano is notable as being the betting partner of the tournament – the first bookmaker to do so and building on similar deals with the 2022 World Cup and this year’s Copa America. Meanwhile, bookmakers are creating Euro-specific campaigns, such as Paddy Power’s UK-focused advert poking fun at the England fanbase.
French bookmakers will be no exception to this marketing push given the customer acquisition and retention opportunities the Euros pose. ANJ is now seeking to ensure bettors throughout the tournament place wagers safely.
