French Betting Sites

Author: Steven D. Thompson

Updated: 20/12/2024 11:20 AM

Whether you are in the UK, the USA or anywhere in Europe, if betting is something you enjoy, then you will want to find the best online betting site. Whether this is for horse racing betting, sports bets or any other type of online betting in France, then you need to ensure you wager with the best betting sites in France. In this guide to betting in France, we will take a look at the best French sport betting sites, how to sign up with these online bookmakers, key stats and facts to remember and much more.

Table of Contents

Top 5 Betting Sites in France in 2024

LeoVegas
GreatWin
N1bet
LV Bet
Jeetcity

Sports Betting Regulation in France

Gambling was made legal in France in 1907. Online gambling became legal in 2009 after pressure from the EU on the French government. However, most forms of online gambling were actually only fully legalised in 2010, a year after the initial legalisation of online gambling.

Incredibly, despite this change, online casinos are still illegal in France, meaning they cannot operate in the country or offer casino games. It is also worth noting that the three types of legal internet gambling in France are online horse racing betting, online sports betting, and online poker, with casino games and betting exchanges not part of this list.

It is written in the French Gambling Act that betting on games of chance is forbidden. Poker is not seen as a game of chance as players can change strategies depending on their situation in the game. Poker is therefore legal under the French Gambling Act.

To make matters in France a lot more frustrating, players have to pay a tax of 2–8% on their poker winnings, although there is no tax on winnings for horse racing or sports betting.

Key Facts & Stats About Betting in France

How to Pick the Best French Bookmaker

If you are choosing the best site, whether you want to get involved with horse race betting or other sports betting in France, you need to ensure you have the right bookie for you.

Step 1

Check The Licences & Safety

There are so many bookmakers in France that it can often feel like there is too much choice. Despite the often overwhelming choice, you need to be very picky when it comes to choosing a safe and licenced gambling site for you.

Step 2

Check out The Mobile Betting Options

It is not just a case of having to head down to your nearest betting shops anymore. Now, you can get involved with all kinds of mobile betting to wager on anything from horse races to the FIFA World Cup.

Step 3

Check Bonusses & Features

When you come to trying to find the best online bookmakers for you, ensure you take a number of things into account. This should include their welcome offer, where they accept players from, their offering of live betting, their services online, betting features, payment methods, customer support, relevant licenses, safety and security, and more.

Outstanding Free Bets & Offers in France

Bookmaker	Offer
N1Bet	300% up to €5000 + €10 Free Bet
FreshBet	100% up to £500
Cyber.bet	100% up to €200
GreatWin	100% up to €100
LeoVegas	€100 Free Bet

How We Compare and Rank Betting Sites in France

Finding the best France sports betting sites is no joke. Most experienced bettors, whether they are French players or otherwise, are looking to make the most out of online betting. They will not waste their time with a site that does not provide everything they want and need. After all, it is your money and time you are putting into different betting websites, so why should you join any online betting sites that are below par?

At BetPack, we make sure that we do all of the legwork for you when it comes to finding the right betting websites for you.

Finding, researching, rating, and ranking betting sites is our bread and butter. Our expert team of betting experts ensures that they have done in-depth research of all of the French online sports betting sites that are available to you.

We pride ourselves on our unbiased bookmaker reviews, which bring a glut of benefits to your fingertips. By providing you with unbiased ratings, you know that you can quickly and easily find the best bookies out there.

We find the best by ranking all of the online betting sites across an array of metrics. These include their welcome offer, sign-up process, payment methods, betting markets, sports on offer, existing customer offers, features, safety and security, customer service, and more.

The best sites in the gambling industry will boast high ratings in most, if not all of the afore-mentioned areas. Of course, you may decide that you only want a bookie that is safe and reputable, has a good welcome offer, competitive odds and a live streaming function. If this is the case, then you can also easily find a bookie that boasts all of these features on our France online sports betting ranking page.

While it takes a huge amount of time and resources to go into the depth we go to to research each bookie, we are committed to doing this knowing that you will find the best bookmaker in the gambling industry, catered to you own personal taste.

License / Security

Having the correct licencing is vital when you come to betting with a bookie anywhere in the world. If they are licenced and regulated by the relevant authority, then you know they are both safe and fair, which is crucial to you enjoying your betting experience.

With regard to security, you need to ensure that you are playing with a bookie that is trustworthy. This will mean that your money and personal information is safe with them. Ensuring you play with a bookie that is secure means you can deposit money in the knowledge that you will not lose any of your hard earned cash to a bookie that is not worth your time.

Welcome Offer

The most common new customer offer available when you decide to get involved with betting is a free bet. New bettors will usually be met by this bet as their welcome offer. This will see a bookie offer a customer something like 'Bet €10, Get €20'. This means that upon signing up with a bookie, you can opt into the offer and deposit/bet €10. Once you have met the relevant requirements, you will be credited with €20 in free bets paid out by the bookie.

This promotion is so popular in the online gambling world because it is so easy to use. It also offers good value to the player, as well as relatively simple wagering terms and conditions to unlock it.

Another very popular welcome offer is a matched deposit. This will see bookies offering their players '100% up to €100', for example. This means that upon signing up, you can deposit a certain amount up to €100, and the bookie will match that. So, if you deposited €50, then the bookie will provide you with €50 in bonus bets. This offer is very popular as it can be used by players with both a big and small playing pot.

Alongside the two previously mentioned offers, French online betting sites will offer cashback, acca insurance, acca boosts, price boosts, and more.

Promotions & Free Bets

Sports Offering

As a rule, you should never bet online thinking that you will only wager on one sport. A good France betting site will usually provide you with a number of sports to bet on, helping to keep things fresh for you.

After all, while betting on football may be all you want right now, you may get bored with it and decide you want to wager on horse racing or other online games. If your bookmaker is predominantly focused on football betting and does not provide options for other sports, then you will be left frustrated.

This is why you should try to find a bookmaker with an array of French gambling market options. Whether this is tennis, cricket, rugby union, horse betting, greyhound racing, or a number of other sporting events, make sure you do not restrict yourself when it comes to betting.

Odds & Value

The odds that your choice of site offers you is vital. If you choose a site that continually provides shorter odds than the competition, then you stand to make less on each winning bet.

While this may not seem like a major concern in a one-off bet, if you continually bet at shorter odds then your actual winnings with the shorter odds will be far less than your winnings with the best odds.

While different bookies will boast offering the best odds for different sports, competitions, and events, you should be able to find a bookie that can provide you with competitive odds.

Finding a bookmaker that boasts having competitive odds should ensure that you are usually wagering on desirable odds.

As far as value is concerned, you are looking for a bet where the likelihood of an event happening is higher than the odds suggest. For example, if France go into the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the number one team in the world and on a 25-game winning run, then they will be seen as big favourites. However, in this example, the bookies are ranking them as the fifth favourite at 15/1, which is very long.

Here, their form and the fact it is a home World Cup suggests they have a good chance of winning the competition, and should be far shorter than 15/1.

If you can place bets on value bets at the best odds then you will be doing all you can to ensure that you are swelling your chance of winning big.

Payment Methods

One of the golden rules of legal gambling in France is to only wager with a site that provides safe and secure payment methods to both French punters and players from all over the world.If they do not offer you a site that you know is trustworthy, then you should not bet with them, it is as simple as that.

Punters may be on the lookout for generous welcome offers, live betting or a range of sporting events, and live streaming, but if they find all this with a bookie that only offers shady payment methods, then they should walk away.

After all, if you get all the features you want from a site but then have to sign up with a payment method you have never heard of, you will not be sure that your money is safe.

Betting should only ever be a fun and enjoyable way to spend your money. As soon as you are worried about what is happening with your personal information and hard-earned cash, then the anxiety will likely outweigh any enjoyment you had from playing with the bookie.

Features

On-site features from a bookie can help make or break a betting option. Usually, players will look for a number of popular betting markets, an array of sports and sporting events, the ability to place in play bets, exchange betting, fixed odds, live streaming, customer support, betting apps and more.

The must-have features for one bettor will usually be different to another player, but this does not mean you should compromise. Most bookies will offer the majority of the afore-mentioned features, but it is up to you to decide which features are vital to your betting experience.

Top French Betting Sites by Category

Category	Bookmaker
Best Welcome Bonus	N1Bet
Best Odds	LV Bet
Best Betting Markets	Sportsbet.io
Best Features	FreshBet
Best Design & Usability	Cyber.bet

Popular Payment Methods for French Betting Sites

Payment options are very critical for bettors who love to bet online. Fortunately, gamblers can use a variety of reliable and trustworthy payment methods, ranging from bank transfers to e-wallets, to deposit and withdraw from their favourite betting site. The good news is that French betting sites have most of these popular payment options.

Debit and Credit Cards

Debit and credit cards have become a staple of modern life. This is no different in the world of betting. Worldwide and French players have the ability to quickly and securely input their card information on most sites, with the safety and speed of the deposits work a particular draw. Many sites will also let you 'remember' a card for quicker payment next time.

Bank Transfers

Bank Transfers feel as old as time itself at this point, but they are still one of the go-to methods for depositing cash into your betting account. Safe and secure, bank transfers are still a major payment method used on betting sites France.

e-Wallets

Many licenced French betting sites offer their players the ability to pay with a number of e-wallets. e-Wallets offer fast and secure payment options for players, while an e-Wallet like PayPal is very popular and world renowned. You can also enjoy e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller too.

Most Popular Sports to Bet on in France

Best French Betting Sites for Sports

Sport	Bookmaker
Best for Football	LeoVegas
Best for Basketball	LV Bet
Best for Tennis	Betcoco
Best for Horse Racing	Sportsbet.io
Best Overall for Sports	GreatWin

Betpack's Most Trusted Betting Sites in France

Rank	Bookmaker
#1	FreshBet
#2	LeoVegas
#3	LV Bet
#4	Rizk
#5	Yeti Win

When it comes to finding a bookie that is right for you, it is not as simple as using one with niche elements like fixed odds betting or a live streaming function. The most important thing is to find a bookie with one of the safest and most reliable services in the game.

Whether you are betting in France or anywhere else in the European Union, you need to ensure that your bookie will keep your private information and money safe.

At BetPack, we do not recommend a single site that we do not deem to be safe and secure. After all, your betting experience hinges on finding a bookie that you feel safe with. The hard earned money you have made and deposited onto a site should be kept as safe as your private information, so ensuring you are betting with a trustworthy bookie is of paramount importance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Betting Apps Are Available in France?

There are numerous sports betting apps available in France for wagering.To find out which apps are available to you, head over to our page which showcases the very best betting apps that France has on offer.

What are the Most Popular Sports to Bet on in France?

French bettors are spoilt with a number of ways to get involved with sporting gambling activities. The most popular sports to bet on include football, horse racing, tennis and rugby union. However, there are a number of other sports that you can get involved with via their sportsbooks or through exchange betting.

Is There a Tax on Sports Betting Winnings in France?

There is no tax on winnings from sports betting or horse racing.However, the licensed domestic gambling sites are required to pay corporation tax. There is also a tax of between 2-8% on each poker win that you have to pay too.

Is Sports Betting Legal in France?

Yes, sports betting is legal in France. It is one of three sectors that are legal, with the other two being horse racing and poker games. Most other casino games are banned, with online casinos also unable to operate. The French government have also set the online gambling legal age at 18. The implementation of the legal gambling age is a way for the French government to ensure that nobody that is deemed too young can access gambling. You are also unable to bet on betting exchanges and spread betting, which are outlawed too.