Online Gambling Market in France On the Rise

Poker sees first positive results in a while, whereas sports betting is setting new records in France.

Leading gaming companies offering their services to French customers have seen very good results in the first quarter of 2016, French Online Gaming Regulatory Authority (ARJEL) has revealed.

There have been several records set in the sports betting market as the revenue from sports wager in the first three months of the current year was up 47% from the same period in 2015, reaching €516 million. When it comes to total revenue for domestic licensed operators, it saw a 30% increase to €82 million.

A 2.1 point rise in player earnings is believed to have resulted in additional revenue as punters opted to stake their winnings on new wagers, while a 75% increase in promotional offers also helped.

There were some strong results for individual sports as hockey gained over 100% in Q1, whereas rugby, basketball, tennis and football saw a 71%, 57%, 46% and 45% increase in wagers respectively.

On the other hand, horse racing is no longer too popular among French punters as racing revenue fell 7% to €247 million and the downwards trend is expected to continue in years to come as horse racing enthusiasts keep lowering their stakes.

Poker Sees First Revenue Since 2011

There were some good news for poker as well, as the online poker market enjoyed the first positive results since 2011. The 2% increase to €62 million was not exactly mind-blowing, but the operators can be boosted by the first solid results in quite a while.

Poker players in France appear to be turning their attention towards tournament play, with tournament fees having risen 17 percent o €500 million, whilst there was a 7% drop in cash game stakes, which still amounted to €953 million.

The number of weekly active player accounts increased to 257,000, despite the fact that the volume of bonus offers dropped slightly.

The poker market is also expected to profit from the legal framework that now allows French-licensed websites to share liquidity with licensed companies in other EU markets, with Italy, Spain and Portugal the likely markets on their agenda.