Most Popular eSports Bookies in France

France ranks number seven in the top eSports markets in the globe. Recently, more eSports games have debuted. Below is a list of titles you'll always find in the best esports betting sites France.

FIFA

FIFA tournaments have been held for a long time. Today, FIFA is a popular eSport game in France and other countries. In 2019, the prize pool for the FIFA eWorld Cup hit $500,000. It is so big that football clubs worldwide work with famous athletes to represent FIFA in various eSports competitions. A good example is the PSG French club which collaborates with professional gamers in FIFA.

Call of Duty

CoD is a big eSports game, solely played on consoles (PS4 and PS5). The best part of CoD is that it changes to a new version every year. The latest form of CoD is Vanguard and was released on November 5, 2021. Call of Duty: Vanguard takes players back to World War II through the experiences of heroic soldiers from different continents and fateful scenarios that united them.

Overwatch

Overwatch is an action shooter game that appeared on the list of online eSports betting immediately after its release. The first Overwatch prize pool amounted to $300,000, with the first league appearing in Asia.

Soon it gained ground in France, and French players got a chance to participate in the first Overwatch World Cup in 2016. Three years later, the number of teams had already reached 20, and the total prize pool was $5 million.

That's not all. French players also love to bet on PUBG, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), Rocket League Betting, Rainbow Six Siege, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Fortnite, Smite, Dota 2, etc.

Betting in France started with the card deck in the early 1500s during Queen Catherine's reign. The invention of card games inspired many games of chance that are played today, e.g., blackjack and faro. The two games were also played in Britain and later in the US.

Thanks to the French people in Mississippi, this activity grew in popularity, spreading across America. In the 16th century, the state lottery was introduced in France and other European countries. Then in the 17th century, Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, invented the roulette wheel.

Unfortunately, the French government outlawed all forms of gambling in 1836. Underground horse betting was the only game of chance people could play freely. In 1842, two brothers (Francois and Lois Blanc) added a zero in Pascal's wheel to reinvent it.

This happened while the government was trying to regulate casinos and lotteries. But horse and sports betting dominated the industry. Sports betting in France remained dead-end until professional competitions in sports events began. At this point, anyone above 21 years was allowed to bet on sports.

Given that eSports betting France is regulated, a license is all that's needed to start a betting site. Nevertheless, eSports providers are highly taxed, making it hard for small companies to survive. This means, only credible operators provide this form of gambling in France.

Even though the number of licensed eSports platforms in the country is low, French punters don't have to limit themselves to local providers. There are countless international websites offering eSports betting. Players can use VPNs to bypass geographical restrictions. A VPN hides a player's IP address when accessing a foreign site. This is a common practice among avid sports bettors from France.

The number of eSports players from France is not slowing down as there's no sign of punters abandoning their leisure activity. We can only expect an upsurge in the sports betting community, which will automatically lead to more online platforms popping up. The eSports sector is still in the inception stage.

Only time can tell how it will thrive. The last few decades have hinted at exponential growth in the coming years. Popular sporting events such as the World Cup are shaping the betting industry. The government of France can expect to amass more revenue from online sports betting activities in the future.

The legislators decided to exclude typical casino games from sports betting because they are considered addictive. The high tax on sports betting (8.5%) makes it harder for investors to introduce more gambling complexes. The deductions cause a relatively higher rake and consequently reduce winning odds. It is, for this reason, many providers leave the market.

Again, the Gambling Act forbids sharing player pools with an international audience. This means French punters can only play with their fellow countrymen in offline betting shops. As a result, licensed providers face liquidity issues because they rely on a restricted local player pool. Higher taxes and a limited player pool cause many French players to explore offshore gambling.

Betting acts in France

France upholds a Christian-Catholic tradition, which explains the general ban on games of chance, as per the Homeland Security Code Article L.320-1. However, a few exemptions have been made over the years to permit certain forms of gambling, such as sports betting. The French gambling laws were revised by the Ordinance of October 2, 2019. This legislation was issued after the reform of PACTE (Action Plan for Growth and Transformation of Enterprises).

Today, online eSports betting is controlled by the Decree 2010-483, enacted on May 12, 2010. The law states that players can only bet on particular sports, results, and competitions directed by L'Autorité Nationale des Jeux, the gaming regulator (ANJ). They can add new sports games after consulting with various sports organizations.

The French law declares that sports event organizers have rights on the kind of competitions they can coordinate. Sports betting companies can only provide bets on games and matches they have agreed with the sports organizers.

Also, licensed eSports operators can only organize bets if they meet the conditions stipulated in Decree 2010-614, enacted on June 7, 2010. On October 14, 2014, the French Supreme Administrative Court confirmed ANJ's decision to cancel bets on game results as even/uneven numbers.