When the European Union first made the ruling that France’s gambling monopoly was unlawful, online gaming operators from all over the world jumped at the chance to operator in the country’s newly regulated market.
Industry insiders predicted that France’s online gambling market would be one of the most profitable in the world, and now it seems as though their calculations were correct.
In the four months since France started welcoming international online gambling operators, more than 2 million new users have signed up for online casino accounts. Each week, it is estimated that 500 000 active users take part in the wide range of gambling activities offered at the newly regulated websites. According to betting regulator ARJEL, on average, online gamblers bet 100 EUR per week and each bet averages around 7 EUR. In total, EUR 250 million has been spent over the past four months.
Previously, players were estimated to be spending over EUR 1 billion per year at unregulated online gambling websites, leaving the government to lose out on valuable tax revenue. Of course, the monopoly brought in a great deal of money for the country, but the government can now see the value in having an open, regulated online gambling market. Traffic is only going to increase from here, and it is estimated that players will top the previously yearly earnings for France’s online gambling market.
