The number of French online gamblers using smartphones and tablets has more than doubled in the last year, according to the latest market data from French regulator ARJEL.
According to ARJEL, 381,000 gamblers accessed French-licensed online gambling websites using smartphones or tablets during the last quarter, up from 166,500 a year earlier.
The take-up was highest among poker players, where 214,000 used a mobile or smartphone and 32,000 used tablets to play online poker during the final three months of 2012, equating to 27% of active players in France during the period, well over double the level recorded a year earlier. Take-up among sports bettors was up to 21% from 12%, and to 17% from 11% for horse racing punters.
Another trend identified by AAMS in its quarterly report was the continued skewing of online gambling activity away from younger bettors towards older players, which first became evident in the first quarter of 2012. Active player accounts held by punters aged under 35 fell to 53% of the total, against 58% in Q4 2011.
The swing was most pronounced in poker and sports betting. In sports betting, the percentage of active players aged 18-24 fell to 25% in the final quarter of 2012 from 39% a year earlier, while in poker, this demographic contracted from 24% to 18%.
The shift towards the older generation in the regulated French market was however less pronounced among horse racing punters, reflecting the distinctly older age profile of this group from the very start of the regulated market back in 2010.
In France, the total number of active players during the period remained broadly stable at 1.4m, as an increase sports betting punters, ostensibly due to the Euro 2012 football tournament and the Olympics, was offset by a fall in poker player numbers.
Operators also spent less on advertising and marketing in France as they continued their retreat from costly above-the-line campaigns aimed at grabbing market share following the dot.fr opening in June 2010. Spent fell to €239m from €195m in 2012, as bonusing increased its share of overall spend to 58% from 49% in Q4.
Article written by Stephen Carter
