The total amount of bets placed in France for the Rugby World Cup has already reached €75 million, according to the ANJ (National Authority for Games, the national regulator for gambling). This intermediate amount already constitutes a record, as the previous edition in Japan in 2019 had a total of €58.6 million in bets (€32 million in 2015 and €13 million in 2011). According to the ANJ, the total amount of online and “brick-and-mortar” (in-store) bets could reach €150 million if the French team performs well, as they will face Italy this Friday at 9 PM.
Not surprisingly, the match that has generated the most bets since the beginning of the competition is the opening match between France and New Zealand (27-13 on September 8th), with €9 million at stake. This is followed by the match between South Africa and Scotland (18-3 on September 10th) and the match between France and Uruguay (27-12 on September 14th), with approximately €4 million in bets. Around twenty licensed operators offer these bets.
These figures were disclosed during the visit of the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on Thursday, to the headquarters of the ANJ in Issy-les-Moulineaux, for a presentation of the betting surveillance system and the risks of sports manipulation put in place during the World Cup.
All matches are monitored by the ANJ, which estimates, however, that “the risk of manipulation is very low” during the tournament.
