Speaking to an audience in Monaco, Jean-François Vilotte, the head of France’s gaming regulator ARJEL, admitted that the country’s newly regulated gaming sector is but a quarter of the size it was prior to the introduction of the licensing model in June.
Figures released by ARJEL last week showed that some 2M players have opened accounts under the new scheme. Of those 2M, a weekly average of 500K each bet €100, or around €7 per bet. While horse racing licensee PMU has done quite well for itself, accounting for some €215M worth of wagers, football betting has not gone as well, accounting for only 56% of sports betting, instead of the 70-80% ARJEL was projecting.
Accordingly, with the numbers not being what they were expected to be, the same could be said for the now stated goals of regulation. No longer focusing on the tax revenues ARJEL was expecting to reap, Vilotte now claims that the goal was actually to temper demand for online gaming, while achieving a switch ‘from illegal to legal’. Well… well done, then.
