France’s betting operators recorded stakes of €351m during the first quarter of 2015, a 38% rise on the €254m recorded in in the same period in 2104. Gross profits were also up, 17% to €63m on the €54m achieved last year.
Pay out ratios rose to 82.1% from 79% in 2014, while active player numbers were up 27% to 202,000 on the 159,000 who were active in 2014.
Football and tennis were the two driving sports recording 58% and 18% of all stakes respectively, although punters’ enthusiasm for betting was reflected across other sports such as handball, where stakes rose 87%, and basketball, which saw a rise of 42% in stakes during the quarter.
Revenues continued to drop for online poker operators with cash game stakes down 15% to €1.02bn in 2015 compared with €1.2bn during the same period last year. Gross profits dropped 5% to €61m although tournament fees rose 5% to €426m on 2014’s €407m as players looked to play for longer periods and make their leisure spend last longer.
ARJEL also confirmed that the principle of European poker liquidity sharing had been approved by the country’s Interior Ministry but that a change to the turnover-based taxation system to one based on gross profits was not on the agenda for the foreseeable future.
Pari mutuel stakes for online horse racing were roughly stable at €266m for the quarter, a 1% drop on the €269m recorded in the first quarter of 2014, with gross profits unchanged and active player numbers at €66m and 148,000 respectively.
