Strong French sports betting market offsets poker decline
ARJEL figures show sports betting GGR increased 19% in 2013 as online poker woes continue
The French online sports betting market continued its upward trajectory during 2013 after the country’s regulator reported a 19% rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR), offsetting what was another disappointing 12 months for online poker.
According to figures released by l’Autorité de regulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL), sports betting GGR rose to 164m, up from 138m during 2012.
Total amounts wagered in the market also increased sharply, up by 20% from 705m during 2012 to 848m in 2013, which the regulator said was driven largely by a 39% increase in football wagers.
“Sports is performing very well and is a healthy market,” Betclic Everest Group CEO, Isabelle Andres, told eGaming Review yesterday prior to the release of the results.
The growth in the sports betting comes as the French online poker market continues to record declining figures after GGR for the vertical fell 13% year-on-year to 258m for 2013.
The online poker market consistently posted falling revenues throughout 2013 after former ARJEL president Jean-François Vilotte described the lack of demand for the vertical as a “matter of concern” in January.
However, Q4 2013 figures from Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) released last week show the former French monopoly had bucked the industry trend for poker by reporting a 19.5% increase in GGR.
Last month the French National Assembly rejected a proposals to open the door to the sharing of liquidity pools with other regulated online poker markets in Europe despite ARJEL presenting evidence in favour of the motion.
GGR for horseracing grew slightly by 0.4% despite the market suffering its first ever fall in amounts wagered.