France’s online gambling market shook off its pandemic baggage in the third quarter thanks to record sports and race betting handle.  

Figures released Wednesday by France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) gambling regulator show locally licensed online gambling operators generated combined revenue of €405m in the three months ending September 30, up 17% from the same period last year and more than one-quarter better than Q2 2020’s result.

Sports betting revenue rose 6% year-on-year to €228m as betting turnover soared 49% to €1.615b, a new record for France’s decade-old regulated online market. The surge came courtesy of a 37% rise in weekly active bettors to nearly 2.2m as major sports resumed activity following this spring’s halt due to COVID-19, although average stakes per player slipped by 22% to €104.

Football drove the results, accounting for 64% of Q3 betting stakes, while the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich drew over €31m in bets, second only to the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.