French gaming revenue grows 35% in Q1 increase as betting skyrockets
The French online gaming sector posted revenue of €587m ($715m/£505m) for the first quarter of 2021, representing a 35% increase on the same period last year.
According to the statistics posted by France's gaming regulator ANJ, the increased revenue can be attributed partly to a 19.1% increase in active player accounts to 3.1 million.
Sports betting in particular was was subject to massive growth. The €2.18bn wagered by players was a 78.8% increase on a 2020 heavily impacted by a suspension of sporting events caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic late in the quarter.
This led to €357m in betting revenue, from which €172m was paid in levies.
Active sports betting accounts increased 29.2% to 2.5 million - a figure which the regulator said is expected to increase this summer due to the Olympics and Euro 2020.
Football was the most popular sport to bet on by a considerable margin, contributing €1.3bn worth of wagers. Basketball was second with €362m, followed by tennis with €340m, with rugby coming next with €49m.
There was also an increase in betting on horse racing, as the €481.0m staked represented a 59.9% increase from 2020. Active accounts were up 13.3% to 402,000, while revenue increased 48.0% to €110m.
The €120m worth of poker revenue was a 23% increase from last year, while active player accounts grew 9% to 991,000.