French Market Gambling Research Report

9/24/09 - Amid the enthusiastic speculation and optimism regarding the soon-to-be-liberated French gambling market, the survey company MECN has released its factual and in-depth look at the potential of the opening sector.

Many operators expect a boost for their business from the opening of the French online gambling market scheduled for 2010, and a MECN spokesman said this week that the optimism seems to be justified now that the draft of the legal bill opening up France`s online betting and poker market is approaching adoption.

The online gambling market is expected to grow to Euro 1.7 billion (gross revenues) by 2015, and MECN has compiled a new landmark report that offers an unprecedented in-depth analysis of the French gambling market.

One of the key aspects of the planned liberalisation, which will probably take effect in summer 2010, will be the opening of the interactive/online sports and horse race betting markets as well as of online poker.

According to MECN`s new research around 80 percent of the gambling operators and experts surveyed consider the French market relevant for their future business. The focus is on online sports betting and poker - more than two thirds of operators surveyed want to obtain an online poker license under the new and more enlightened dispensation.

The survey found that operators will focus on online poker and sports betting because they expect the French market to outstrip even the success story of the Italian online poker and betting market.

Despite the many unresolved issues of the upcoming liberalisation, 77 percent of the operators surveyed in MECN`s study are looking to
obtain a French online poker license.

MECN expects that gross revenues (sales/turnover less payout of prizes and winnings) in the French interactive/online gambling market will grow by
a factor of nearly six from currently around Euro 300 million to approximately Euro 1.7 billion by 2015.

Martin Oelbermann, director of MECN, opines: "The French market will give the global online gambling market a new push and develop into
one of the key markets worldwide with online poker paving the way".

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