France’s online poker market enjoyed a serious surge in the first quarter of 2020, although it’s unclear how long the pandemic-influenced gains will last.

Figures released Monday by French gambling regulator ARJEL show locally-licensed online operators generated combined revenue of €435m in the first three months of 2020, a 22% rise over the same period last year. The gains came as active player accounts rose 17% year-on-year to nearly 2.6m.

The gains came despite sports betting turnover falling 4% year-on-year to €1.22b, the regulated market’s first wagering decline in nine years. The COVID-19 cancellation of major sports events in March pushed that month’s turnover down 40%, spoiling what had been an 11% turnover rise over the first two months of 2020.

Despite the turnover decline, favorable (for the bookies, anyway) sports results resulted in betting revenue rising 18% year-on-year to a record €263m. The results would have been much higher were it not for COVID-19, as revenue was up a staggering 48% by the end of February.