French gambling search more than doubles in October, Blask data shows
Blask said French gambling search demand more than doubled into early October 2026, with offshore brands at 83.9% of demand.
Operators holding a French licence gained little from an autumn spike in player interest, most of which went to brands licensed elsewhere, according to Blask data reported by European Gaming. Brands classified by Blask as offshore accounted for 83.9% of online gambling search demand in France between 29 September and 12 October 2026, up from 67.5% in the two weeks to 20 September.
October surge
Blask compared average daily search interest across two 14-day windows: 7 to 20 September and 29 September to 12 October 2026. Overall daily search demand across the French gambling market more than doubled between the two windows, with the strongest activity recorded in early October. Blask said the increase coincided with a period of nationwide demonstrations and public-sector unrest in France, which began with school blockades in late September. Search interest was already falling by the time further demonstrations took place on 17 and 24 October.
Who gained
Over the same period, the share of the Blask Index held by brands that Blask categorises as offshore rose by 16.4 percentage points. ANJ-licensed operators grew their absolute search demand by about 25%, but their activity remained below August levels. Blask attributed roughly half of the rise to Leon, which saw its daily Blask Index rise more than tenfold, and to gtBet, which first appeared in Blask’s French market data on 29 September. With gtBet excluded, French gambling search demand still nearly doubled, which Blask said reflected broader growth across numerous offshore casino brands.
Regulatory context
The Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) licenses online sports betting, horse-race betting and poker, while casino games and online slots are not authorised on the French market, according to the regulator. Blask said this directs French consumer demand for online casino products towards operators licensed in other jurisdictions.
Methodology
The Blask Index measures relative online search demand, and the shares reported are proportions of the index rather than gambling revenue, player numbers or financial market share. Blask’s full analysis of French gambling search demand was published on 28 October 2026.
Sources
- European Gaming · Industry media · primary source ·
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