Vive la Slot: France Market is Robust in Q3
Published December 1, 2017 by Lee R
Engagement acumen is shaping the new French market.
The France market is rollicking along, with a gaudy new set of Q3 figures its latest testimony.
Six Year Best
Poker’s strongest growth in almost six years led the charge published a week ago by French regulator ARJEL.
New Totals
The new total of €549k worth of sports wagers placed in the three months ending September 30 represented a 23% rise year-on-year from Q3 2016, with betting revenue up 23% year-on-year to €106m.
Activity
Weekly active player numbers jumped 26% to 301k, resulting in a quarterly betting total surpassing €100m for the second time in three quarters of 2017 to date.
No Major Tournament, No Worries
These gains come off as particularly robust when taking into account the fact that Q3 2016 included the latter stages of the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament as well as the Rio Summer Olympics.
Q3 Implications
Q3 2017 then stands as a salient reminder of the popularity of betting on football, with undeterred French punters still choosing football as the direction for 60% of Q3 betting stakes. The activity was followed by tennis (25%), and then basketball, whose modest 4% should not bely a total jump in basketball wagers to 58% year-on-year.
The Horseracing Novelty
Horseracing wagers jumped double digits as well, climbing 15% year-on-year to €244m, driving racing revenue improvements up 10% to €60m and weekly active race betting accounts up 5% to 127k.
The gains in racing are of note, as this marked the second consecutive quarter that racing stakes improved, at a Q3 pace substantially improved over Q2’s 9% growth, with the recent growth indicating the most substantial improvement since France’s regulated market was liberalized in 2010.
Engagement Breakthrough
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.
Overview
This model of engagement should be used more going forward to render the new French online gaming market even more resilient.
