World Cup 2026 and the Advertising Question in France

World Cup 2026 and the Advertising Question in France

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, France's gambling regulator has chosen to intervene early in the advertising cycle. The Autorité Nationale des Jeux has issued a public warning to licensed operators, urging them to avoid expanding marketing activity beyond previously declared limits as the tournament approaches.

The signal comes at a time when marketing budgets are already moving upward. According to the regulator, operators in France have increased their promotional allocations by an average of 25 per cent in anticipation of the World Cup, which will be staged across several countries in the Americas. The tournament is expected to draw sustained global audiences over several weeks, making it one of the most commercially significant sporting events in the calendar.

For betting companies, this concentration of attention traditionally translates into intensified outreach. For regulators, it creates a moment of scrutiny. The ANJ's intervention reflects a concern that large-scale competitions can lead to a surge in advertising visibility, particularly during live broadcasts, where audiences are both large and diverse.

This is not the first time the regulator has confronted the issue. During the 2021 European Championship, the ANJ publicly criticised what it considered an excessive volume of gambling promotions. That episode prompted calls for greater moderation in subsequent tournaments. In later years, the regulator acknowledged that operators had shown more restraint. However, the scale of the World Cup introduces a different dynamic, one that the ANJ appears unwilling to leave unaddressed.

An additional factor shaping the debate is a procedural change introduced by FIFA. For the 2026 tournament, each match will include mandatory hydration breaks around the midpoint of both halves. These pauses, intended as a player welfare measure, will last approximately three minutes. From a broadcasting standpoint, they create new advertising windows within live match coverage.

The ANJ's concern is straightforward. Additional breaks mean additional inventory for advertisers. In the context of a high-profile tournament, that inventory may attract increased demand from betting operators seeking prominent placement. The regulator has therefore called on companies not to exceed the budgets they have already communicated, emphasising the need to prevent what it describes as overexposure.

The issue extends beyond raw spending figures. It also touches on the timing and environment in which advertising appears. Live sports broadcasts draw mixed audiences, including minors and young adults. A 2024 study indicated that 15.3 per cent of sports bettors in France meet the criteria associated with problem gambling. The same research showed that 18 per cent of bettors fall within the 18 to 24 age bracket. These data points have reinforced the ANJ's focus on visibility and frequency rather than simply on content.

At the same time, the regulator's position must be viewed within a broader economic framework. In 2025, following an increase in gambling taxation introduced mid-year, overall marketing expenditure among French operators was reported to be eight per cent lower than the ANJ had initially projected. That decline was interpreted as evidence that fiscal policy can influence promotional strategies. The recent 25 per cent rise in World Cup-related budgets suggests that operators may treat global tournaments as exceptions to more restrained annual patterns.

Broadcasting stakeholders have begun to respond. The French advertising body ADMTV confirmed that one major television network has committed not to sell gambling advertising during the new hydration breaks. The broadcaster also pledged adherence to standards agreed in 2022 by the ANJ, the media regulator ARCOM, and the Advertising Standards Authority ARPP. These guidelines set out expectations regarding targeting, volume, and the presentation of gambling promotions.

The ANJ has previously floated the possibility of a more structural intervention: a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling advertisements during live sporting events. Such a model would prohibit betting promotions from the beginning to the end of a match broadcast. Comparable voluntary frameworks have been implemented in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where operators agreed to suspend television advertising during live sports coverage. In France, the concept remains under discussion rather than being formally adopted.

For now, the regulator's approach appears preventative. By issuing a warning months before kickoff, the ANJ is attempting to shape conduct before campaigns are finalised and media space is secured. The emphasis is on maintaining declared budgets and avoiding a surge in advertising intensity tied specifically to the tournament.

The 2026 World Cup will likely test the balance between commercial ambition and regulatory expectation. Operators see a period of elevated interest and potential customer acquisition. Regulators see a moment when visibility can escalate rapidly, particularly through newly introduced broadcast intervals. The outcome will depend less on headline figures than on how consistently companies align their strategies with the limits they have set.