Arjel industry performance

Thursday January 21,2016 : FRENCH REGULATOR REPORTS ON F.Y. ONLINE GAMBLING PERFORMANCE
 
But high taxation and restricted player pools remain a problem for operators.
 
ARJEL, the French online gambling regulator, has reported on the industry's performance in the ring-fenced French market through 2015, noting that betting volumes have shown growth, but profits have remained under pressure.
 
Sports betting continued to lead the market with wagering up 30 percent to Euro 1.44 billion, and a particularly good fourth quarter when amounts staked reached Euro 452 million – a record since online betting was liberalised 5 years ago.
 
Online poker cash game wagering declined again, this time by 14 percent year-on-year to Euro 3.7 million, although the tournament side was healthier with entry fees rising 14 percent to Euro 1.7 billion.
 
Pari-mutuel horse racing deposits declined 2 percent to a new low of Euro 1 billion.
 
The number of weekly active online gamblers rose year-on-year by 8 percent to 200,000
 
Whilst gross profits rose with the amount staked and looked good at Euro 270 million (a 19 percent y-o-y increase) the taxman hammered operators, who reported that profits remain under pressure.