France reports third quarter results

Sports betting and online poker helped France achieve good results during the third quarter of 2017.

France.- ARJEL, the French gaming regulator, posted the revenue results that indicate that online poker and sports betting experienced a good three month period, ended September 30. French punters totaled US$639 million in those three months.

Internet sports betting collected US$125 million in revenue during the third quarter of the year, which represents a 23 percent increase. Punters collected US$639 million, also a 23 percent up during that period. The French gaming regulator said that football is still the most popular when it comes to sports betting, as it accounts for 60 percent of the whole betting activity, even if there wasn’t a major tournament in Q3.

Horse-racing also increased its wagering by 15 percent year-on-year to US$284 million, whilst racing revenue increased 10 percent to US$70 million.

“The positive dynamics of the sports betting market observed since the opening of the online gaming market is extended once again this quarter. It is driven by the increase in the population of sports betting players; nearly 301,000 player accounts were active each week in Q3, against 239,000 last year in the period,” said ARJEL in a statement.

Poker was also one of the top performers during the three month period, as the modality achieved one of its best quarterly numbers in the last few years: revenue rose 11 percent year-on-year to US$67.6 million. Online poker stakes increased 9 percent to US$1 billion.

ARJEL believes that the 8 percent increase year-on-year during the third quarter is the biggest positive change reported in cash games in a three month period since 2011.