[Flashback] One year after the sports betting controversy and millions paid to bettors, the French Basketball Cup resumes this weekend

The controversy originated from a regulatory change unknown to betting operators. The French Basketball Federation (FFBB) had reintroduced the handicap system this season, which had been absent since 2019. Specifically, each lower division team automatically received a 7-point lead per division gap at the start of the match.

This rule, announced in March 2024 by the FFBB, was apparently not considered by several operators when setting odds for matches on September 23-24-25. « Betting sites generally rely on odds produced by foreign providers, and they didn’t notice the rule, » explained a semi-professional bettor and former operator employee.

A loophole exploited by hundreds of informed bettors

Experienced bettors quickly identified this opportunity. Many bettors placed wagers on points scored after one quarter (14 points for example), knowing that the lower division team started the game with 7 points automatically awarded.

According to available information, several hundred thousand euros were wagered in total on about twenty matches, mainly on first quarter scores, with potential winnings estimated in the millions of euros.

Thousands wagered, millions to pay

Faced with this unusual influx of bets on typically low-interest matches, operators first tried to backtrack. Betclic initially canceled the affected bets, citing « the application of these new rules [which were] not clearly communicated by the French Basketball Federation. » This justification was quickly debunked, as the changes were clearly indicated on the competition’s official website.

The National Gaming Authority (ANJ) later ruled in favor of bettors: « Bets must be settled based on the first announcement of results by the FFBB. » This position, combined with ParionsSport’s decision to pay their clients that morning, forced Betclic to reverse course.

https://x.com/Betclic/status/1840434493976379451

« Betclic has decided to correct its September 29 position and validate payment for players affected by quarter-time bets, » the operator announced in a late statement, apologizing for « the confusion » and « inconvenience » caused to bettors.

September 2025: The restart

This weekend of September 12-13, 2025 marks the return of the French Men’s Cup and the Round of 64 with 12 matches on Friday and 11 matches on Saturday featuring teams from ELITE 2, NM1 and the 2025 Men’s Trophy winner, Beyssac-Beaupuy-Marmande, from NM2. Below is the match schedule with associated handicaps, including:

• 12 matches without handicap
• 10 matches with a 7-point handicap
• 1 match with a 14-point handicap (BBM Marmande versus Pau-Lacq-Orthez)