Nearly 75% of French players resist cross-sell

Almost three quarters of gamblers on French-licensed egaming sites stick to one gaming vertical, according to a series of studies from regulatory body L’Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL).

The studies, which saw the regulator receive input from thousands of players on dot.fr sites, found less than 7% were active across all three categories in the five months ended 31 May.

Almost half of that total is accounted for by those who only play poker, with 37.68% of all the country’s gamblers sticking to that particular vertical while 17.15% stick to horse betting and 19.61% only bet on other sports. Those who bet on horseracing and other sporting events make up a further 10.28%.

The vast majority of punters (more than 85%) surveyed were found to just hold one player account on a dot.fr site, with 11% using two and the remainder using three or more. A further study of 150,000 players has been commissioned with the aim of “better understanding the sociology and behaviour of players”.

The study was designed to “better understand the different aspects of the industry of gambling and online gambling and to improve the recognition of the great objectives [of the regulation],” according to a statement from ARJEL.

Despite poker continue to generate apparent interest among the French population, the vertical has suffered since regulation with a number of operators withdrawing from the market amid tough operating conditions and declining revenue. Gross gaming revenue from the vertical fell by 12% in H1 2013 according to the most recent figures from the regulator.