French online poker cash games post biggest gains in six years

France’s regulated online gambling market was firing on all cylinders in Q3, with poker posting its strongest growth in nearly six years.

Figures released Friday by French regulator ARJEL show locally licensed online gambling operators handled €549k worth of sports wagers in the three months ending September 30, a 23% rise over the same period last year, while betting revenue was also up 23% year-on-year to €106m.

The year-on-year gains are all the more impressive given that Q3 2016 included both the tail end of the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament and the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Weekly active player numbers shot up 26% to 301k, which helped push the quarterly betting revenue total above €100m for the second time this year.

Even without a major football tournament, the sport remains French bettors’ favorite activity, accounting for 60% of Q3 betting stakes. Second-ranked tennis was well back at 25%, while third-ranked basketball scored only 4%, despite basketball wagers rising 58% year-on-year.