According to the research data analyzed and published by Safe Betting Sites, sports betting revenue in France more than halved in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. As a result of the global pandemic, there was a 56% drop in the vertical. This resulted in an overall drop of 6% in gross gambling revenue (GGR) during the quarter.
Also, the online sports betting revenue in France for the period fell to €94 million. Over the lockdown period spanning between March 16 to May 10, operators reported a turnover decline of 87%. The average spend per player dropped by 32% year-on-year (YoY) while active player accounts decreased by 36%.
Interestingly though, bets on horseracing increased by 33% during Q2 2020, reaching €88 million. This was the highest level on record since 2010 when the French market was regulated. Similarly, online poker GGR had a 126% growth and reached €142 million, with the number of active players surging by 68%.
As a result of the growth reported in poker, the GGR for the online gambling market for the first half of 2020 increased by 8% YoY and reached €758 million.
The situation was eerily similar in the United States. According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), there was a 46.3% decline in sports betting GGR in Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2019.
Commercial gaming revenue for the industry fell a whopping 78.8% YoY during the quarter. Sportsbooks’ gross revenue during the quarter dropped by 46.3% due to the cancellation of most sporting events.
iGaming was the only vertical in the US market to record YoY growth in the three-month period. In fact, by the end of Q2, iGaming revenue for 2020 had nearly reached triple the amount it reported in Q2 2019.
Total revenue for iGaming during the period reached $402.7 million marking a 253.8% growth YoY, contrasted with $64.2 million for sports betting. It was the first time since Q2 2017 when iGaming revenue surpassed sports betting revenue.
NBA2k and FIFA Account for 80% of UK’s eSports Revenue
During the same three-month period, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) reported a remarkable increase in popularity for the eSports betting industry in the UK. Though an increase was anticipated in view of the absence of live sports events, the reported growth exceeded all expectations.
In terms of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY), betting companies in the country made £50,000 from eSports in March 2019. Fast forward to March 2020 and the figure had increased to £1.5 million, and further to £3.39 million in April.
The YoY increase for the one-year period between March 2019 and March 2020 was a whopping 2,922%. In turn, the March 2020 to April 2020 increase was still massive, 124% in a single month. By May, the figure was £4.6 million, accounting for at least 4% of all revenue from sports betting across the market.
According to EveryMatrix eSports betting report 2020, the vertical experienced a 40x uptrend in the month of May alone. The growth was to a large extent fuelled by two major titles, NBA2k and FIFA. Together, these accounted for 80% of the betting volume reported during the month.
In keeping with this uptrend, several global online bookmakers reported remarkable surges in growth. A case in point was Luckbox, which reported a 500% upsurge in global betting volume between March and June 2020.
UK Sports Betting Revenue Jumps By 146% in June as US Reports 86.2% Upsurge in July
Towards the start of the third quarter, sports betting seems to have initiated a recovery in key markets. This has to do with the gradual resumption of sporting activities. In the UK, for instance, betting revenue increased by 146% from May to June 2020. The number of sports bets placed in May was 104 million, rising to 225.4 million in June.
Similarly, in terms of GGY, the June total of £217 million marked an increase of 115% from May. The number of active players also increased by 81% in the same one-month duration.
In the US, the start of the third quarter showed continued recovery from March lows. July revenue from sports betting in the US amounted to $69.0 million, an increase of 86.2% YoY. It marked the third month during which revenue conditions in commercial gaming were dramatically improving.
Notably, before the pandemic struck, sports betting was reporting incredible growth. Compared to the same period in 2019, January 2020 saw revenue growth in the environs of 235%. Overall, by July 2020, the YTD growth for sports betting is 18.9% despite the situation.
