Interactive
France – ARJEL reports online growth across the board in France
By Phil - 8 August 2019
In the first half of 2019, the three segments of the French online gaming market all grew with turnover up by 20 per cent, according to figures posted by the Regulatory Authority online games (ARJEL).
The number of players also increased in each of the three approved sectors. Sports betting was the largest contributor to this increase, experiencing a 34 per cent increase over the six months to reach €2.5bn, the largest recorded over one semester. The other two online gaming segments are also growing as a result of the favorable second quarter results. The increases in the stakes and the turnover recorded in equestrian paris and poker over the semester remain however much less important than with sports betting.
France has 13 licensed operators offering sports betting. In the second quarter of 2019, total bets reached €1,199m with revenue up 18 per cent. On average nearly 608,000 player accounts were active each week up from 527,000 last year. In terms of online betting there was one more operator in business compared to last year with Vivaro Limited going live with its Vbet.com betting site during the period.
Growth in horse racing bets continued at a faster pace than the previous quarter with €269m of bets being placed. Average active players were up by four per cent reaching 142,000. ARJEL stated: The structure of the horse racing calendar has changed significantly. The number of foreign races and meetings that are shown by the betting media has increased significantly this quarter. Conversely, the number of French races present in the horse calendar is slightly down.”
Online gaming increased by eight per cent to €66m, the highest amount of sales recorded in almost three years.
Unlike the first quarter of 2019, poker has grown in terms of bets and entry fees. Poker players paid nearly €546m in entry fees to participate in online poker tournaments against €525m last year. At the same time, the cash game business, down one per cent in the first quarter, is starting to rise again and at a significant pace. The stakes taken by cash game players on the poker tables increase by nine per cent to €1,011m. The average number of active players each week also increased over the period with nearly 261,000 player accounts active.
