France’s online gaming regulator L’Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) has awarded iGaming license extensions to a number of operators following the expiration of the original five-year licenses issued in May 2010.
Unibet, bwin.party and Betclic Everest Group are the first batch of operators to have their operating licences renewed as well as Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and French lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ).
Partypoker brand, Winamax, and PokerStars were also recent license recipients.
The new licenses will run for five years, from June of this year to June 2020.
France Pari is now licensed to continue offering its B2C and B2B services in the country after strong growth since its 2010 launch with its B2B business Sportnco expanding into new markets and establishing itself as a key service provider in the French market.
“When the French market opened, it was the start of our betting operations,” said France Pari founder and CEO Hervé Schlosser. “Five years later we are well established as an operator but also as a global betting provider on a European scale.”
France Pari operates six sports betting platforms—Joa-online.fr, NetBet.fr, ZEbet.fr, france-pari.fr, genybet.fr and feelingbet.fr—and it has a market share similar to that of former monopoly operator Française des Jeux.
ARJEL released their Q1 2015 numbers earlier this month and a boost in online sports betting resulted in a 3% increase in year-on-year gross gaming revenue to €190m and gross profits were up 17% to €63m.
