French online poker, sports betting revenues spike in Q3

French regulator ARJEL has revealed a significant increase in online poker and sports betting revenue for the three months to September 30.

Revenue from internet sports betting activities in the third quarter amounted to €106m ($124.2m), up 23% on €87m in the corresponding period last year.

French punters wagered a total of €549m on sports in the period, up 23% on the previous year.

Football remains the most popular sport to bet on, accounting for 60% of all wagering activity, despite the lack of a major national team tournament in Q3.

ARJEL also noted strong improvement in the horse-racing sector of the market, with wagers up 15% year-on-year to €244m and racing revenue climbing 10% to €60m.

In a statement, ARJEL said: “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.”

Elsewhere, France was able to record one of its most successful quarterly poker performances in recent history, with revenue from online poker up 11% year-on-year to €58m.

Online poker stakes hiked 8% to €885m, while cash game revenue also climbed by 5% to €22.1m in the most recent quarter and weekly active poker accounts increased 8% to 228,000.

The increase in stakes comes in the wake of two consecutive quarters of decline, after ARJEL reported a 1% drop in the first quarter of the year and a 0.4% fall in Q2.

ARJEL noted that the 8% year-on-year improvement in Q3 is the biggest upward change recorded in cash games in a quarter since 2011.

Related article: France: online betting growth but “tax system is heavy burden on sector”, says ARJEL