A “record amount of bets” was registered in France for the Euro 2016 final, adding up to €29.6M ($33M), according to Boris Teillet of LE MONDE. The number was “almost equal to the sum” of €31M worth of registered bets for all 31 matches of Euro 2012. Four years later, Euro 2016 generated a total of €297M ($330M) bets. The 12 online licensed operators sanctioned by the French Regulatory Authority for Online Games (ARJEL) combined for €141.2M ($157M) worth of bets while government-owned French Games company FDJ recorded €155.8M ($173M). French Finance Commission member Régis Juanico said, “In 2012, one third of bets were made online. Today we now see that it’s almost 50-50.” For each bet made on sports in France, “the government takes 1.8%.” Juanico: “This sum goes toward the financing of the National Center for Sporting Development (CNDS). But it is capped.” To finance the Euro, an “additional levy of 0.3% was added to the main collection on scratch cards and lotteries, bringing it to 2.1%.” The levy is “expected to continue” until ’17. Juanico would “like to see it extended and will propose an amendment during a finance law evaluation in the fall.” For ’16, the State could take in €323M ($359M) in taxes from sports bets, of which €222.6M ($247M) “will benefit the CNDS,” which would help the Paris 2024 Olympic bid. Juanico: “Betting on sports increased by 30% in 2015, it's time to remove the caps and allow the CNDS to get more money” (LE MONDE, 7/14).
