Winamax launches sports betting site
Poker operator adds sportsbook to its France-facing site ahead of next week's World Cup
Winamax has launched a sports betting product on its France-facing poker site just a week before the start of the football World Cup.
The poker operator first revealed its intention to diversify into sports betting in April this year, and subsequently received a five-year sports betting licence from the French regulator last month.
Pari-mutuel and fixed-odds betting is now available on Winamax.fr with a limited number of sports, including football, tennis and basketball.
The launch is Winamax’s first move away from France’s troubled poker market which has continued to decline both in terms of revenues and active players over the course of the past year, contrasting with recent growth in the country’s sports betting sector.
Sports betting in France grew by 22% year-on-year in Q1 2014 and rival French operator Betclic saw revenues surge on thruogh an improved sportsbook performance.