The popularity of French football giant Paris Saint-Germain helped boost the country’s regulated online sportsbetting market through the first half of the year but did nothing for Web poker.
The betting sector saw year-on-year turnover rise by 11% in the six months through June to €402 million. The total of poker wagers went in the other direction, falling 14% to €2.7 billion.
The increased betting action resulted in revenues for bookmakers of €80 million, a jump of 11.5% over the first six months of last year. The drop in poker play generated a corresponding 12% decline in revenues from cash games to €135 million. The number of active players also was down by 7% to 906,000. Tournament revenue about stayed level at €713 million.
Experts blamed the decline on the combined impacts of taxation and regulatory restrictions that limit player pools and therefore liquidity.
