French online sports betting remains buoyant

The French online sports betting sector remained buoyant in Q3-2016, according to the latest figures from regulator ARJEL, which reported:

* Sports betting turnover up 50 percent year-on-year at Euro 448 million;

* Revenue up 40 percent y-o-y at Euro 87 million;

* Euro 2016 football and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil were big drivers, generating turnovers of Euro 39 million and Euro 34 million respectively and contributing 16 percent of all sports betting wagers in the quarter;

* Football remained popular, delivering 58 percent of Q3 wagering, with tennis the only other sport to contribute double digit numbers at 27 percent;

* Active sports punters increased by 45 percent year-on-year to almost 240,000, with new accounts opened by members of the feminine gender up 85 percent y-o-y, representing a higher growth than new male sign-ups (43 percent);

In other verticals the picture was not as rosy; Q3 online poker revenue was down 3 percent y-o-y at Euro 54 million, with Euro 21 million coming from cash games and Euro 31 million from tournament action.

Online poker cash game players laid down Euro 817 million, 2 percent less than in the same period last year, and tournament deposits reached Euro 430 million, only slightly better than the preceding year.

Horse racing was again in decline, down 11 percent compared to Q3-2015 at Euro 213 million. Revenue was correspondingly 10 percent lower y-o-y at Euro 54 million. The decline was also reflected in active player numbers, which shrunk 8 percent to 121,000.

The French online gambling sector overall comprised 281,000 online gambling accounts at the end of Q3, slightly up on the same period last year, but the regulator noted that new signups in August following the Euro 2016 football championships had plunged 31 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

French operators invested Euro 129 million in marketing from January to end August 2016, up 46 percent compared to the first eight months of 2015; much of this went to promoting major sports events the Olympics and Euro 2016 football.

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