- Online gaming revenue in France reached new heights in Q1 2019 bringing in €357 million.
- In the first three months of 2019 online poker generated €67.9 million.
- Tournament poker in France recorded a market high of GGR €45.4 million generated on €599 million in entry fees.
Online gaming revenue in France reached new heights in Q1 2019 bringing in €357 million from online sports betting, horse racing and poker.
The record revenue figure last quarter surpassed the previous high achieved in Q4 2018 by €10 million, and is the direct result of the continued success of the sports betting vertical in the market.
For the fourth straight year, Q1 online poker gross gaming revenue rose sequentially to start the year, exceeding the Q4 figures from the quarter prior. In the first three months of 2019 online poker generated €67.9 million. However, on an annual basis poker declined 1.5% from the €68.9 million the operators in the market generated in Q1 2018.
The division between cash game and tournament revenue remained consistent with a split of 33%/67%. On an annual basis, tournament poker was up on Q1 2018 by 2%.
On an absolute basis, tournament poker in France recorded its highest amount of gross gaming revenue since the inception of the market with €45.4 million generated on €599 million in entry fees, also a market high. The previous record for both total entry fees and tournament GGR was set in Q1 2018 with €594 million and €44.8 million respectively.
Though growth for tournament entry fees was minimal (<1%), Q1 2019 marked the ninth consecutive quarter of annual growth for tournaments.
Interestingly, the average buy-in for both multi-table tournaments and sit & go tournaments dropped dramatically. The average MTT buy-in fell from €5.4 in Q1 2018 to €3.3 last quarter while sit & go buy-ins dipped from €6.1 to €5.1 over the same period.
