France’s online gambling revenue grew by one-quarter in 2018 but the country’s regulator says improvements are needed to ensure these gains continue.

This week, French regulatory authority ARJEL released its Q4 and FY18 reports on the performance of French-licensed online gambling operators. Bottom line: the market continues to post solid growth but “elements of fragility remain and we must not let our guard down.”

In the final three months of 2018, sports betting turnover rose 51% to €1.06b – a quarterly record since the regulated market’s 2010 launch – while betting revenue improved 32% to €215m. The number of weekly active bettors was up 39% to 546k.

Football wagering was up 54% to €663m in Q4, with basketball (€162.7m, +35%) and tennis (€111.4m, +70%) a distant second and third. The quarter’s biggest gainer in percentage terms was volleyball, which more than doubled its betting handle to €18.8m.