Since its liberalization in 2010, the sports betting market has exploded
in recent years. This success rests on one thing only: selling dreams tothe most vulnerable populations in order to ruin them. Several studies
and reports published this year paint a grim picture of this measure,
from aggressive marketing to quasi-mafia practices. ---- I'm talking
about a time that those under twenty can't possibly know... Before 2010,
only Française des Jeux (FDJ) was authorized to organize and operate
games of chance and gambling, including sports betting - with the
exception of horse racing, which was managed by Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU).
Everything changed in 2010: under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, and
after intensive lobbying by bookmakers, a law championed by Bruno Le
Maire opened the sector to competition. While the FDJ (now privatized!)
and the PMU retain their monopoly on physical retail outlets, the online
market is opening up to competition in a favorable context: smartphones
have been around for three years and are rapidly becoming widespread,
and the 4G network is being rolled out... Welcome to the free market in
a deeply addictive sector that derives most of its revenue from the most
vulnerable segments of the population. What could possibly go wrong?
UNSCRUPLED
For betting companies, everything is going swimmingly: their revenues
have skyrocketed over the past 15 years. The sector was worth EUR180
million in 2012; by 2024, it was projected to reach almost EUR1.8
billion[1]. The result of an aggressive strategy, which fully
capitalized on the widespread adoption of the internet and apps, and
succeeded in attracting more bettors, but also in getting them to spend
more: over the same period, the average annual spending of players
doubled, rising from EUR180 to EUR360. The practice is massive: in
France, across all types of gambling, 24 million people gambled at least
once in 2024, an increase of more than 10% in two years, and 350,000
people gamble every day. Companies have shown no scruples in achieving
this result.
Prevention is largely neglected by the government. During the 2022 FIFA
World Cup, the Seine-Saint-Denis department itself funded public
awareness campaigns.
Seine-Saint-Denis - The Department
The sociological profile of gamblers is clear: while scratch-off tickets
are slightly more popular among women, sports betting is practiced by an
overwhelming majority of men, who make up 89% of bettors-a gendered
dynamic widely exploited by marketing. One in three is a manual laborer,
and more than half have an education level below a high school diploma.
These figures are even more pronounced when focusing on gamblers
developing addictive behaviors: 35% of them are manual laborers, and
more than 70% do not have a high school diploma.
CRIMINAL MARKETING
As early as 2010, advertisements openly targeted young men from
working-class neighborhoods, adopting their aesthetic and sartorial
codes and expressions. The most cynical example is probably the "All for
Mom" advertisement broadcast by Winamax in 2021 and 2022: it shows a
young gambler in a tracksuit winning his bet, allowing him to offer his
mother a social boost, symbolized by a magical elevator climbing
endlessly through increasingly luxurious apartments, before arriving at
a plane in mid-flight. The message is clear: gambling is a real way to
"secure Mom's future." So clear, in fact, that the French National
Gaming Authority (ANJ) asked the company to withdraw its campaign[2], as
its message was in direct violation of the law governing advertising for
betting and gambling. A unique intervention so far, and one that will
only take place a year after the campaign's launch, in an environment
where skirting the edge of legality is the norm[3]: the ANJ (National
Gambling Authority) has been chronically underfunded since its creation,
employing only 8 people to oversee the entire sector.
ADDICTED FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL ONWARDS
Another prime target: young people. 72% of bettors are under 35. But the
ideal time for addictive behavior is still to develop during
adolescence. Gambling is, however, prohibited before the age of 18. On
paper, at least: at the beginning of the year, the Seine-Saint-Denis
department published a study on sports betting among 13-25 year olds in
the 93rd district[4]- a choice of age group that is already quite
telling! The results are alarming: in this age group, one in five men
gambles, a figure that rises to one in four for 18-25 year olds, with
the first bet generally taking place between the ages of 14 and 15. 75%
of these gamblers exhibit problematic gambling behavior. It must be said
that, on paper, the bulk of prevention efforts are supposed to be
handled by the bookmakers themselves. The conflict of interest is
obvious: 63% of their revenue comes from players "in a state of
addiction or loss of control."
To delve deeper into this subject, we recommend the excellent podcast
"Aux frontières du légal: Dealers de jeux" by Rozenn Le Saint and
Sylvain Richard on Mediapart.
Another recent report from the association Addiction France sheds a
harsh light on these issues[5]. It estimates that at least one in three
advertising pieces does not comply with the recommendations of the
French National Gaming Authority (ANJ), and that 80% of influencer
content does not include any health message, which is mandatory. The
social impact is devastating: one in four bettors admits to losing more
than EUR100 per week on average. The report denounces the very idea of
"responsible gambling," describing it as a marketing concept that
individualizes addiction problems and creates the illusion that a
healthy, risk-free practice is possible. In light of this, it recommends
drastically strengthening the laws governing these practices, following
the model of several countries such as Italy, Belgium, and Spain.
THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS
And of course, there are the few gamblers who seem to be doing quite
well. The report points out that, in reality, only 1% win more than
EUR1,000 per year. And those who might be too lucky for the benefit of
the companies can quickly encounter unpleasant surprises: these
companies do not hesitate to exclude players who win too often, prevent
them from betting, or even freeze their winnings[6]. Whatever happens,
the player will lose out; the very viability of these companies is at
stake. The list of their almost mafia-like practices seems endless.
Widely used for money laundering, they largely turn a blind eye to these
practices, which are far too lucrative for them[7].
Let's be clear: lacking any human or social utility, the entire gambling
and betting sector is one of the purest manifestations of capitalism.
Its sole aim is to exploit the most vulnerable populations to enrich a
few shareholders, leaving society to pay for the damage: a social cost
that Addiction France estimates at over EUR15 billion per year. While
stricter regulation is certainly desirable, the complete abolition of
these companies and practices is what we must strive for. In the
meantime, let's be vigilant in our living and working spaces and strive
to protect our social class from the damage caused by this industry!
Submit
[1]"2024 Gambling and Games Market Report," French National Gambling
Authority.
[2]"The ANJ (French National Gaming Authority) is asking Winamax to
remove its 'All for Mom' advertisement," Anj.fr.
[3]Carine Mutatayi and Solène Malok, "Content of advertisements for
online sports betting in France, between 2014 and 2024," OFDT, March 31,
2025.
[4]Thomas Amadieu, "Gambling among young people in Seine-Saint-Denis,"
January 2025.
[5]"Red card: the aggressive marketing of sports betting," Addiction
France, September 4, 2025.
[6]Latifa Oulkhouir, "Online sports betting: 'They're hunting down
winning players,'" the Bondy Blog, June 4, 2021.
[7]Yann Philippin and Jean Letellier, "Money laundering: the Winamax
site gets burned by gambling," Mediapart, October 2, 2022.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Paris-sportifs-et-jeux-d-argent-L-autre-guerre-aux-pauvres
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