France’s iGaming sector has posted a record €617m ($716m) turnover for Q2 2021, driven primarily by sports betting.
According to the country’s gaming regulator, L’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), sports betting brought in €420m for the second quarter, totalling 68% of online gambling revenue to reclaim its role for a second time this year as the top vertical.
The volume of sports betting stakes dipped below Q1’s record-setting €2.2bn sum to €2.15bn, with the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship and the French Open having an undeniable impact on player’s behaviour during both periods.
In fact, bets on these competitions represented 22% of Q2’s activity, with €434m worth of online transactions taking place during the Euros alone.
“The French are always more likely to bet online and, quite logically, the Euros boosted the segment of sports betting whose turnover reached another record this quarter,” said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, President of the ANJ.
Revenue from horse racing is seeing a return to pre-pandemic levels, bringing in €95m, up by 11% year-on-year (YOY), with €400m in betting stakes, however, online poker has seen a slight dip in YOY turnover due to an intense period of activity during the nation’s lockdowns and confinements, according to the ANJ.
Q2 revenue for online poker amounted to €103m, compared to €142m for the same time in 2020 for a decrease of 27%.
“This growth testifies to the fact that the French model, although very supervised, is not a brake,” added Falque-Pierrotin.
“However, it makes us ask ourselves about the societal issues that these new uses present. This is particularly the case with advertising, a subject on which the ANJ is currently consulting all stakeholders to promote a rebalancing of operator practices.”
