France’s autumn jump in gambling demand landed almost entirely outside the licensed market.
France’s daily Blask Index more than doubled between 7–20 September and 29 September–12 October 2026. The rise coincided with nationwide protests that began with school blockades in late September, yet it peaked in early October and was already fading by the marches of 17 and 24 October.
The ANJ licenses online sports betting, horse racing and poker but no casino games, so France online casino demand runs entirely through offshore sites. Those brands lifted their share of French search from 67.5% to 83.9% between the two windows, while licensed operators added about a quarter and never climbed back to their August level.
Two names carried half of the gain. Leon multiplied its daily Index more than tenfold, and gtBet entered Blask data on 29 September. Even without gtBet, French demand nearly doubled, because the rest of the rise spread across a long list of offshore casino brands rather than one breakout.
Licensed operators gained little from France’s autumn surge: by late October, with demand easing, offshore brands still held a larger share of French search than before it began.