Latest News
French online poker cash games post biggest gains in six years
France’s regulated online gambling market was firing on all cylinders in Q3, with poker posting its strongest growth in nearly six years.
Figures released Friday by French regulator ARJEL show locally licensed online gambling operators handled €549k worth of sports wagers in the three months ending September 30, a 23% rise over the same period last year, while betting revenue was also up 23% year-on-year to €106m.
The year-on-year gains are all the more impressive given that Q3 2016 included both the tail end of the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament and the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Weekly active player numbers shot up 26% to 301k, which helped push the quarterly betting revenue total above €100m for the second time this year.
Even without a major football tournament, the sport remains French bettors’ favorite activity, accounting for 60% of Q3 betting stakes. Second-ranked tennis was well back at 25%, while third-ranked basketball scored only 4%, despite basketball wagers rising 58% year-on-year.
Horseracing wagers enjoyed a rare double-digit gain, improving 15% year-on-year to €244m, while racing revenue improved 10% to €60m as weekly active race betting accounts improved 5% to 127k.
This marks the second consecutive quarter that racing stakes have improved, and the pace of growth in Q3 was significantly higher than Q2’s 9% growth. In fact, the vertical hasn’t shown such dramatic growth since the market liberalized in 2010.
ARJEL credited the gains to racing operators’ efforts to launch new simplified products to appeal to new bettors, while improving loyalty programs to retain existing bettors.
On the poker front, overall revenue rose 11% to €58m. After two straight quarters of cash game declines, cash game stakes shot up 8% to €885m, marking the biggest gains French cash games have enjoyed in six years. Cash game revenue improved 5% to €22.1m.
Tournament poker was equally buoyant, with fees rising 10% to €474m and revenue rising 14% to €35.7m. The French market hasn’t seen both poker verticals post simultaneous year-on-year gains since 2011.
Weekly active poker accounts rose 8% to 228k, reversing four straight quarters of decreasing player numbers. Cash games helped goose the numbers, with cash game actives up 12% to 68k, while tournament actives were up 9%. The gains came despite operators’ bonus expenditure falling 9% to €11.9m during Q3.
ARJEL is even more bullish about its rebounding poker market given that its licensed poker operators are still waiting on the starting gun for sharing poker liquidity with the regulated markets of Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Latest News
Kambi Group plc repurchase of shares during 6 November – 12 November 2024
Kambi Group plc (“Kambi”) has during the period 6 November to 12 November 2024 (the “Buyback Period”) repurchased a total of 54,000 ordinary B shares (ISIN: MT0000780107) as part of the share buyback programme, within the mandate approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 20 June 2024 (the “Programme”).
The objective of the Programme is to achieve added value for Kambi´s shareholders and to give the Board increased flexibility with Kambi´s capital structure by reducing the capital. The Programme is being carried out in accordance with the Maltese Companies Act, EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 (“MAR”) and other applicable rules.
From the beginning of the Programme, which started on 6 November, until and including 12 November 2024, Kambi has repurchased a total of 54,000 ordinary B shares at a volume-weighted average price of 111.87 SEK per share.
During the Buyback Period, Kambi has repurchased shares as follows:
Date | Aggregated daily volume (number of ordinary B shares) |
Weighted average share price per day (SEK) |
Total daily transaction value (SEK) |
6 November 2024 | 14,000 | 117.27 | 1,641,822 |
7 November 2024 | 10,000 | 115.17 | 1,151,709 |
8 November 2024 | 10,000 | 110.08 | 1,100,826 |
11 November 2024 | 10,000 | 107.82 | 1,078,240 |
12 November 2024 | 10,000 | 106.81 | 1,068,130 |
All acquisitions have been carried out on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm by Carnegie Investment Bank AB on behalf of Kambi. Following the acquisitions and as of 12 November 2024, Kambi’s holding of its own shares amounted to 1,428,678 and the total number of issued shares in Kambi is 31,278,297 ordinary B shares. Under the Programme Kambi is authorised to repurchase a maximum of 3,127,830 ordinary B shares, up to a maximum amount of €12.0 million.
A full breakdown of all transactions carried out during the Buyback Period is attached to this announcement.
Information on the Programme is available on Kambi’s website, kambi.com/investors/share-information/
Latest News
Zillion Games launches Storm Fruits 2
Zillion Games launches Storm Fruits 2, an exciting sequel to the popular Storm Fruits. With 4,096 ways to win and a Bonus Buy option, players can jump straight into the action for even more chances to win. This refreshed classic fruit theme combines timeless charm with modern thrills for a truly engaging experience.
Accumulated Bonus
During gameplay, bonus symbols accumulate, and when five symbols land, a special feature may trigger, adding the missing symbol to activate the Hold and Ring bonus mode.
Hold and Ring with Jackpots
In this bonus mode, players can win one of three jackpots: Mini, Minor, or Major. Fill all 20 grid positions to unlock the Grand Jackpot.
Free Spins with Random Walking Wilds
Wild symbols can appear in varying amounts on each new spin, moving to random positions and potentially leading to big wins. In Free Spins mode, landing three scatter symbols will trigger additional free spins for even more chances to win!
Latest News
Growe Partners Named Best Affiliate Program. Once Again.
Growe Partners, an affiliate program, which has skyrocketed its performance in the iGaming industry in just a year, has received yet another recognition as the Best Affiliate Program at the SiGMA Europe Awards 2024.
The ceremony took place in Valletta, Malta on Nov, 12th, and the victory was achieved through a combination of public votes on the award page and evaluations by a distinguished jury panel.
In just a year Growe Partners has rightfully reserved a place amongst industry leaders, who have been in the game for a lot longer, and as they say themselves — they are not going anywhere. Today Growe Partners is a network with over 32 thousand partners, operating in more than 10 locations worldwide.
“This achievement reflects our commitment to investing in our people, our partners, our ideas, and continuously implementing new innovative approaches. We are proud of the strong team we have built, which is always on the lookout for ways to develop and better themselves. And whose dedication resulted in this victory.
With winning this award we would like to once again emphasize that everything is possible in our industry if you set the right goal and work hard for it.” , — commented Dima Mariievskyi, Head of Growe Partners.
-
Africa7 days ago
EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership
-
Asia7 days ago
Nazara Publishing announces playtest for FAU-G: Domination at India’s oldest and biggest game developer conference IGDC 2024
-
Asia7 days ago
8Bit Creatives partners with NODWIN Gaming as the exclusive talent partner for DreamHack India
-
Asia6 days ago
VSPO, the largest esports company in Asia, rebranded Hero Esports to support global growth strategy
-
Balkans7 days ago
BEGE celebrates 15 years as Eastern Europe’s premier gaming expo
-
Gaming7 days ago
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
-
Latest News6 days ago
Week 45/2024 slot games releases
-
Latest News7 days ago
AC MILAN AND SPRIBE ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP AND WELCOME AVIATOR AS THE CLUB’S OFFICIAL CRASH GAME