FDJ sports wagering doubles
La Francaise des Jeux has seen a significant year-on-year increase in sports betting in 2010.
France’s former lottery monopoly has seen the amount wagered on its online sports operations more than double in a year, la Française des Jeux (FDJ) has revealed.
According to reports in French newspaper Le Figaro, FDJ brought in 91m through online wagering in 2010, compared to 43m in the previous year “ an increase of 111.6%. The 43m figure itself marked a 61% increase compared to 2008.
This rise contributes to a 46% overall increase in the amount raised by the former lottery monopoly in sports bets, with the ‘physical network’ bringing in 1bn, an increase of 42% on the previous year’s figures.
The figures mark the end of a busy year for FDJ, with a number of deals concluded ahead of the regulation of the French online gaming market.
FDJ bought betting software provider LVS in March, after signing a deal with the provider earlier in the year to provide its fixed-odds sports betting platform, and “ while isolated figures for the football World Cup have yet to be released “ chairman Christophe Blanchard-Dignac stressed at the time the importance of concluding the deal ahead of regulation in France.
Last year eGaming Review also revealed details of the deal between FDJ and Orange “ concluded in April “ which brought the ParionsWeb sports betting brand to a mobile audience in time for the regulation of the French market.
The total amount wagered in sports bets (live or online) totalled 1.142bn, comfortably ahead of FDJ’s 1bn target for the year.