The French regulated online gambling market saw a considerable increase in sports betting revenue and another quarter of a slump in poker cash games during the three months ended September 30, 2016, figures posted by the local gambling regulator ARJEL showed.
Online sportsbooks generated a total of €448 million during the third quarter of the year, up 50% as compared to the figures posted for the same period of the previous year. The growth was attributed mainly to the UEFA European Championship and the Rio 2016 Olympics, with both major sports events taking place within the quarter.
The reported turnover was down from the second quarter of 2016 when online sports betting operators generated an all-time record of €585 million, up 73% from the same three months of 2015. The significant jump was due to increased betting activity during the UEFA Euro Championship which France hosted from June 10 to July 10.
Online sports betting revenue amounted to €87 million during the three moths ended September 30, up 40% from the same period of 2015 and down from €91 million generated during the second quarter of the current calendar year.
Betting on football accounted for the greater portion of the amounts staked during the three-month period in review – 58% to be precise. Tennis was the second most popular sport among bettors, claiming a 27% share.
The number of active sports betting customers also grew significantly, according to ARJEL’s latest financial report. There were a total of 239,000 active bettors during this year’s third quarter, up 45% year-on-year.
While online sports betting was thriving in France, the situation with online poker was a bit different over the three months ended September 30. Revenue from online poker dropped 3% year-on-year to reach €54 million. Revenue from online tournaments amounted to €31.2 million during the third quarter of the year, up slightly from €31 million reported for the same period of the previous year. Tournament stakes increased 0.4% year-on-year to €430 million. The number of active players was down 5% to a total of 211,000.
Cash game revenue dropped 9% year-on-year to €21 million. Stakes from cash games were down 2% from the third quarter of 2015 to reach €817 million. There were 121,000 active cash game players during the period in review, down 8% year-on-year.
The first quarter of 2016 was the first and only three-month period of online poker growth reported by ARJEL since the market’s regulation in 2010. Burdened with tough regulations, taxes, and additional rakes on cash games, French online poker has not enjoyed quite a lot of popularity with local players, hence the constant declines in revenue.
This summer, the French government passed important amendments to the county’s Digital Law, allowing ARJEL to negotiate shared liquidity with the regulators of other EU member states. According to many, the country is most likely to reach such an agreement with Spain and/or Italy, the other two regulated jurisdictions with ring-fenced online poker markets. It has been announced recently that officials for the three countries had discussed the matter and that another meeting would take place this month.
