The amount is unprecedented in the history of sports betting. Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the National Gaming Authority (ANJ), announced on Monday, at the microphone of BFM Business, that the French had bet 435 million euros during Euro 2021, a clear increase compared to at the 2018 World Cup (335 million). The president of the ANJ also notes that “for four years, there has been a majority of online bets compared to physical bets. “
A logical development if we look at the latest figures published by the ANJ. The pandemic, containment and the return of sport have attracted new players to online betting platforms. In the first quarter of 2021, their number had increased by 29% compared to the same period in 2020, to a total of 2.5 million active accounts.
The advertising tidal wave of sports betting sites around this Euro has also contributed to this increase in bettors. The France-Switzerland match thus concentrated 27 million euros in stakes, a record for the competition. There is no doubt that if the Blues had gone further, the figures would have continued to panic. Thus, despite its strong emotional potential and its indecisive poster, with higher odds than in other matches, the Italy-England final attracted “only” 20 million euros in stakes.