Key Takeaways
- Revenue from cash games declined fractionally by 2%, but that was more than made for the continued growth of poker tournaments, up 15%.
- ARJEL identified “a significant decrease” in the total rake taken by poker operators in Q1 2018 as the reason for the slight drop in cash game revenue.
- These impressive figures somewhat underplay the underlying growth in online poker, with total bets growing double digits in both cash and tournaments.
French regulator ARJEL reported that gaming revenue in online poker grew over 8% in Q1 2018, reaching a five-year high of €68.9 million.
Last quarter is the first on record under new rules on European shared liquidity. PokerStars was the first and is currently the only operator able to take advantage of the new regulations. The company combined its Spanish and French player pools in mid-January.
Revenue from cash games declined fractionally, by 2%, but that was more than covered by the continued growth of poker tournaments, up 15% year-over-year to €45 million and reaching the highest level ever recorded. Tournaments now represent 65% of all online poker gaming revenue, up from 61% in Q1 2017.
