2017 saw France’s online gambling market in its full vigour

The preceding year 2017, saw France’s online gambling market operating in its full vigour with even the much-criticised poker and horseracing verticals posting their robust and positive growth.

As per the Official figures released on Tuesday by the French gaming regulator ARJEL, the online sports betting turnover was found to be growing nearly one-third to €704m in the fourth quarter of 2017. Simultaneously the online betting revenue surged 82% to a new quarterly record of €163m.

When the total active bettors in Q4 were up one-quarter to 1.12m the active weekly bettors leaped 43% to 393k. Though, the Q4 revenue gains were immensely credited to a rash of punter-antagonistic sporting results.

Irrespective of their cause, the Q4 gains were significant enough to push FY17 online betting turnover up 21% to €2.5b when revenue gained 35% to €472m. Both these sums represent new annual records owing to the launching of the regulated market by France in the year 2010.

The revenue gains were aided by a nearly one-fifth decline in marketing spending by French-licensed operators last year, due primarily to the lack of a major sporting tournament. Acquisition bonus expenses were up 10% last year, while retention bonuses declined 8%.

Online horserace betting completed the turnaround it began in Q2, posting its third consecutive quarter of subsequent growth and its first annual improvement since 2012 as active player ranks rose 8%. Annual racing turnover rose 8% to €999m and revenue improved 4.7% to €245m. Though both figures are still well below the marks set in the years prior to 2016, the beleaguered French racing industry is not raising any complaints.

Online poker active player ranks were also on the rise, improving 13% to 609k in Q4, while the annual figure was up 8% to 1.05m. Cash games spending slipped 0.3% to €930m in Q4, reversing Q3’s impressive growth figures, but cash games still managed a 1% spending rise for the full-year to €3.6b.

The poker tournament numbers were far more robust, with Q4 spending up 13% to €550m – a new quarterly record – and the annual figure rose 9% to €2.04b. Overall online poker revenue was up 7% to €66m in Q4 while the annual haul also rose 7% to €245m.

France began sharing online poker liquidity with Spain last month, and Portugal is set to join the two countries any day now. Italy, the fourth member of the liquidity pact signed last summer, has been less specific about when it might join this party although its representatives have sought to reassure the other three nations that Italy intends to honour its commitments.