Quarterly analysis of the online games market in France

Transcription

1 1 31 March 2012 Quarterly analysis of the online games market in France 1 st quarter 2012

2 2 Summary of activity data The findings below are based on the data that accredited online betting and gaming operators have transmitted weekly and quarterly. Most of the indicators given concern the 1 st quarter of This study only looks at active player accounts, i.e. those that have played at least once over the period. Sports bets In the 1 st quarter of 2012, the amount placed in on line bets is up by 14% over the 1 st quarter of The increase in the amount of bets is across all sports except tennis. The operators turnover (GGI Gross Gaming Income) rose by 7% from Q and Q The difference between the amounts bet and GGI is due to a lower Return on Investment (ROI) in The number of active player accounts each week has remained relatively stable from 2011 to 2012 at comparable periods (109,000 per week in Q versus 111,000 in Q1 2011). Sports bets Q Q Difference Bets 154m 175m +14% Gross Gaming Income 35m 37m +7% Horse racing betting On line horse racing betting is also up in relation to Bets for the quarter are 13% above those of the first quarter of 2011, whilst operators GGI is up by 20%. The number of active player accounts each week is also significantly up, after 18 months of overall stability (154,000 active player accounts each week on average in Q1 2012, versus 140,000 in Q1 2011). In terms of the attractiveness of the offer, the sharp fall in the GGI net of bonus 2 points between Q and Q was balanced by the distribution of significant bonuses and the addition of a number of foreign races to the calendar of events on which bets are placed. Horse racing betting Q Q Difference Bets 257m 291m +13% Gross Gaming Income 58m 69m +20% Poker In the 1 st quarter of 2012, the cash game market saw a 5% fall in the level of bets, whilst tournaments have continued to rise, with entry fees rising by +26% between Q and Q In spite of the good conduct on tournaments, operators gross gaming income has fallen by 3% in relation to the 1 st quarter of 2011, in spite of an average number of active player accounts per week up by 1% from 2011 to 2012 (323,000 in Q versus 327,000 in Q1 2012). Poker Q Q Difference Cash game bets 2,029m 1,698m 1,930m (*) 5% (*) Tournament entry fees 292m 367m +26% Gross Gaming Income 86m 83m 3% (*) Using the comparable accounting method

3 3 Summary of qualitative data In Q1 2012, almost 1.3 million player accounts were active in at least one of the three regulated activities. In total, online players paid 297m into their accounts during Q1 2012, which corresponds to an average of 73 per month and per player account. This amount is equivalent overall to that noted in Q1 2011, where average monthly deposits stood at 74. On average, each player account was topped up 2.3 times a month in Q1 2012, versus 2 times a month in Q On line gaming and betting operators spent 48m in the media for their marketing budget, i.e.44% less than in Q Sports bets In sports bets, the total number of active player accounts fell slightly ( 3%) between Q and Q As in the previous quarter, that reduction is mainly due to the fall in the number of player accounts in the age category, where the population has fallen by 44%. Mobile gaming (mobile telephones, smart phones, or tablets) continue to spread amongst sports punters. This shows that 15% of sports punters connect via the supports in Q1 2012, i.e. twice as many as in Q Horse racing betting In horse racing betting, the number of active player accounts has crept up by 9% between Q and Q This increase mainly affects the older players, with the age population segment increasing by 10%. The use of mobile supports is also on the rise amongst horse racing punters: in Q1 2012, 12% connected via a telephone or a digital tablet, as opposed to 8% in Q In the 1 st quarter of 2012, on line horse racing betting increased overall across France, although race goers mainly from rural areas continue in the majority to come from North Western France, where equine culture is at its strongest. Poker The number of active poker player accounts is down by 3% compared with Q and Q That reduction is mainly attributable to the loss in impetus of the cash game activity, with 9% fewer players from one period to the next, whereas the tournament activity has increased by 3%. This fall in the number of player accounts mainly affects players aged under 55. As for other activities, the age group is the most affected, losing 20% of its player accounts. In Q1 2012, 15% of poker players used a mobile support, whereas the figure stood at just 4% in Q

4 4 Contents 1. Last quarter activity... 5 a. Market data at the end of March i. Sports bets... 5 ii. Horse racing betting... 8 iii. Poker Breakdown of the population of active player accounts a. Active player accounts trends per activity b. Breakdown of active player accounts per age group c. Breakdown per gender d. Breakdown per geographic origin i. Sports bets ii. Horse racing betting iii. Poker e. Breakdown of the player accounts population into bets accumulated i. Sports bets ii. Horse racing betting iii. Poker f. Player accounts generating the most bets Topping up habits a. Amounts and payment frequencies b. Payment methods used Gambling habits a. Player accounts connection times b. Connection devices used Marketing expenses of accredited operators a. Monthly trends of accredited operators' media budgets b. Breakdown of operators' total marketing expenses... 31

5 5 1. Last quarter activity a. Market data at the end of March 2012 i. Sports bets Figure 1: Weekly sports betting trends In the first quarter of 2012, after a subdued 2011, sports betting rose by 14% with respect to the 1 st quarter of In the 1 st quarter of 2012, weekly bets averaged 13.3m, as against 11.7m at comparable periods in Almost 29 million bets were recorded in 3 months, as against 27 million in the 1 st quarter of Active player accounts bet an average of 123 per week and 6 per bet (as against 120 per week and 6.10 per bet in 2011). Table 2: Quarterly trends for sports bets and gross gaming revenue for this sector Sports bets Q Q (*) Q Q Q Q Q Bets 189m 200m 448m 154m 146m 137m 154m 592m 175m Gross Gaming Income 38m 31m 79m 35m 25m 27m 28m 115m 37m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 80% 84% 82% 78% 83% 80% 82% 81% 79% Bonuses given out 6.1m 3.4m 9.5m 2.7m 2.9m 2.4m 2.5m 10.5m 3.4m Players' ROI (including bonuses) 83% 86% 85% 79% 85% 82% 83% 82% 81% (*) Including one month in Q In the first quarter of 2012, the ROI was up with respect to the rate observed in Q1 of However, that rate of 79% net of bonuses and 81% including bonuses remains under the average ROI for In spite of the low ROI, thanks to the richness and attractiveness of the offer of sporting events in the first quarter of 2012, the total bets generated exceeds the figures observed in 2011, and is almost at the level of the third quarter of 2010.

6 The fall in the ROI net of bonuses has allowed operators to apply more gross income to bets at equivalent levels of betting. To the contrary, the increase in the bonus amounts distributed to players may have enabled the retention (or return) of some players who were on the way to becoming inactive. 6 The first quarter of 2012 showed more stability in respect of weekly bets. However, one aspect should be noted: in 2011, European national championships took a breather in the last week of March, giving a partial explanation for the fall in the level of bets. That truce did not occur in In the 1 st quarter of 2012, two one off events of international scope were noted: the European Handball Championships, which led to bets worth 2.5m, the Africa Cup of Nations in football, with bets of 2.6m Setting aside those two significant events, the offer for the first quarter of 2012 was more or less identical to that for the first quarter of The main recurring events of the period recorded an overall increase of 29%, and only the Australian Open, the first tennis Grand Slam tournament of the year, showed a level of betting lower than that of Table 1: Bets recorded on the main recurring sports competitions of Q and 2012 Competition Bets Q Bets Q Trends Six Nations 1,606 k 2,270 k +42% Championships Australian Open 5,622 k 5,346 k 5% Ligue 1 10,979 k 15,258 k +39% Ligue 2 2,823 k 5,079 k +80% Champions League 5,002 k 5,506 k +10% Europa League 3,359 k 4,180 k +24% TOTAL 29,385k 35,369k +20% It can be seen that recurring events with a significant level of media coverage were able to attract sporting punters in the first quarter of Thus, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 as well as the Six Nations Rugby Championship generated bets significantly higher than those noted in Figure 2: Breakdown of 2011 bets per sport At the start of 2012, football and tennis remained the punters favourite sports, even though tennis accounted for just 19% of bets for the quarter. It should be noted that in 2011, at the end of the 1 st quarter, tennis accounted for 24% of the total sports bets placed, as opposed to 54% for football. Key: At the close of the 1 st quarter of 2012, 59% of bets placed concerned football. The 14% increase in bets is thus unevenly distributed across the different disciplines on which bets are placed:

7 7 Table 3: Betting trends per sport between Q and Q Sports Trends Football +27% Tennis 13% Basketball +32% Rugby +36% Volleyball 1% Handball 25% Other sports 7% The fall in betting on handball is explained in particular by the differences in events between 2011 and 2012: The 2011 World Cup was held in 2011, and attracted over 3m in bets. As was observed at the end of 2011, bets on tennis are falling, even though the fall is smaller in this quarter ( 13% in Q1 2012, versus 36% in Q as compared with Q4 2010). It should be noted that overall, in Q1 2012, 49% of amounts were bet directly for 24% of bets (as against 52% of amounts and 23% of bets in 2011). This slight fall in direct betting is explained in particular by the smaller share of tennis bets during the quarter. The sport recorded an average of 72% of direct bets. Table 4: Bets recorded on sports competitions in France and estimation of the betting duty Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Bets on competitions in France 19.0m 34.0m 19.6m 35.2m 19.4m 27.9m 36.2m Estimation of the betting duty 190k 340k 205k 368k 203k 291k 379k The 85% increase between Q and Q in the amount bet on events in France subject to betting duty is explained by various factors: the general rise in sports bets (e.g. Ligue 1 and 2, Six Nations, etc.), the calendar slippage of certain events (e.g. the League Cup).

8 8 Figure 3: Weekly trend in the number of active player accounts in sports bets During the 1 st quarter of 2012, the level of active player accounts each week in sports bets has shown overall greater stability than in preceding quarters. On average, 109,000 player accounts were active each week, slightly less than in 2011, when almost 111,000 accounts were actively each week. It should be noted that setting aside the first week of the year, sports bets each week brought together at least 100,000 active player accounts on accredited sites. In total, 338,000 player accounts were active in sports bets during the first quarter of ii. Horse racing betting Figure 4: Weekly horse racing betting trends In the first quarter of 2012, horse racing betting confirmed 2011 trends and remained at a high level. The quarter's betting total is up by 13% compared with Q

9 9 During the first three months of the year, horse racing betting stood at 22.2m per week on average (as compared with 19.5m observed for the same period in 2011). The record for general bets generated in a single week was beaten at the beginning of January, with bets of 24.2m. Almost 68 million bets were recorded in one quarter, with an average unit amount of Each active player account placed 144 per week with accredited operators sites. Table 5: Quarterly horse racing gross gaming revenue and betting Horse racing betting Q Q (*) Q Q Q Q Q Bets 186m 240m 452m 257m 255m 254m 268m 1,034m 291m Gross Gaming Income 39m 51m 99m 58m 54m 65m 66m 243m 69m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 79% 79% 78% 78% 79% 74% 75% 76% 76% Bonuses given out 4.9m 5.9m 10.8m 3.8m 3.7m 8.6m 4.0m 20.1m 6.6m Players' ROI (including bonuses) 82% 81% 80% 79% 80% 78% 77% 78% 79% (*) Including one month in Q The widening of the on line horse racing betting offer has been confirmed, in particular given the increasing number of foreign races, which represent 20% of races on which bets are placed in the first quarter of 2012 (mainly in Belgium, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Spain). In parallel, the total number of races open to bets, across all operators, is up by 14% from Q to Q Figure 5: Weekly trends in the number of player accounts that are active in horse racing betting Concerning horse racing betting and from the point of view of the trend in the number of active player accounts, the seasonal nature of trends has been confirmed. In mid February 2012 as in 2011 peaks were observed on betting web sites, reaching almost 165,000 active player accounts in a single week. To the contrary, at the end of March and with the end of the trotting season, the weekly level fell to 135,000 active player accounts. The number of active player accounts each week is on average 10% higher in 2012 than in the previous year. In total, 316,000 player accounts were active in horse racing betting in the first quarter of 2012.

10 10 iii. Poker Figure 6: Weekly cash game betting trends At the beginning of 2012, certain operators change their method of calculating cash game bets, with the aim of harmonising the method of calculation for all operators. In order to be able to make comparisons with financial year 2011, those same operators also sent ARJEL the figures obtained using the old method. Thus, the graph below presents three indicators: the curve showing the trend in cash game bets in , based on the old accounting method, the curve showing the trend in cash game bets in , also based on the old accounting method (dotted curve), the curve showing the trend in cash game bets in , according to the new accounting method (solid curve). Thus, it can be observed that using comparable accounting methods, the fall in bets from Q to Q is 5% for the cash game. The average betting amount per week comes to 130m in Q The average bet per active player account per week is 870. Figure 7: Weekly tournament entry fee trends Poker tournament activity remains very dynamic, showing an increase of 26% in total entry fees generated in the 1 st quarter of 2012, compared with the same period in 2011.

11 11 The weekly average is thus 24.6m in cumulative entry fees, as opposed to 22.1m in 2011, at comparable periods. The level of 30m in one week was reached in mid February Average entry fees per player account are up in relation to the figures for 2011 ( 96 per week in Q1 2012, as opposed to 85 in 2011). Table 6: Quarterly trends for gross gaming revenue, bets and entry fees in poker Poker Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Cash game bets 1,782m 1,923m 3,705m 2,029m 1,854m 1,840m 1,869m 7,593m 1,698m 1,930m (*) Tournament entry fees 151m 261m 412m 292m 278m 265m 324m 1,159m 367m Overall Gross Gaming Revenue 58m 81m 139m 86m 78m 74m 76m 314m 83m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 97% 96% 97% 96% 96% 96% 96% 96% 96% Bonuses given out 16m 20m 36m 17m 18m 15m 19m 69m 15m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 98% 97% 98% 97% 97% 97% 97% 97% 97% (*) Total bets using comparable method In spite of falling figures for the cash game, the proper conduct of the tournament activity enables poker operators to keep the fall in Gross Gaming Income to 3%. Figure 8: Weekly trends in the number of active player accounts for poker In the 1 st quarter of 2012, an average of 327,000 player accounts were active each week, slightly more than 2011, where the figure was 323,000 on average for the same period. The first three months of 2012 recorded never before seen usage peaks 345,000 active player accounts in the same week at the beginning of February and clear falls in usage, in particular at the end of March, when the level fell below the 300,000 mark. In the first quarter of 2012, 87% of active player accounts in poker took part in at least one tournament, and 62% of them played at one poker table using the cash game. In Q1 2011, 84% took part in a tournament and 68% took part in cash game poker. This increase in the number of active player accounts in tournaments, to the detriment of the cash game activity, confirms the trend of a very dynamic tournament activity as opposed to a cash game that is clearly slowing down. In total, 772,000 player accounts were active in poker during the first quarter of 2012.

12 12 2. Breakdown of the population of active player accounts a. Active player accounts trends per activity Between the first quarters of 2011 and 2012, the number of active player accounts in each activity changed as follows: 3% in sports bets, +9% in horse racing bets, 3% in poker bets. However, there are differences to be noted in the two poker activities, since the tournament activity continues to attract new active player accounts, whereas those numbers are falling in the cash game. Table 8: Quarterly trends in the number of active player accounts Q Q Q Q Q Q Sports bets 406, , , , , ,000 Horse racing 285, , , , , ,000 betting Poker 727, , , , , ,000 From an overall point of view, operators have stated that 1.3 million player accounts were active on the web sites in the 1 st quarter of 2012, as in the 1 st quarter of 2011.

13 13 b. Breakdown of active player accounts per age group Figure 15: Breakdown of player accounts per age group Key: 18% of active player accounts are aged between 18 and 24. In the first quarter of 2012, across all activities, 55% of player accounts were held by players aged under 35, as opposed to 61% in the first quarter of Sporting punters are still the youngest population, but they increasingly present a profile close to their opposite numbers amongst poker players. In the whole market of on line games regulated by ARJEL, the player population profile has sharply aged between Q and Q In Q1 2012, across all activities, there were almost 230,000 active player accounts in the age range, versus 340,000 in Q1 2011, i.e. a fall of 33% in that population (i.e. 113,000 accounts). A further 12,000 fewer accounts have been registered amongst the age group ( 3%). Conversely, there are 16,000 additional active player accounts amongst the age group (+4%), 23,000 additional accounts amongst the age group (+34%), and almost 10,000 additional accounts amongst the over 65 age group (+38%).

14 14 Table 9: Breakdown trends for active player accounts per age group between Q and Q Sports bets Q Q Horse racing betting Q Q Poker Q Q years 39% 23% 8% 5% 24% 21% years 30% 39% 17% 18% 44% 44% years 33% 33% 49% 49% 29% 31% years 4% 4% 18% 19% 3% 3% 65 years and over 1% 1% 9% 9% 1% 1% In sports bets, the first quarter of 2012 was marked by an increase in the average age of players. The age group fell by 44% between Q and Q1 2012, a loss of almost 60,000 active player accounts in one year. That loss was partially balanced by the age group, which has an increasing population (+26,000 active player accounts). In addition, a further 15,000 active player accounts have been recorded amongst the age group, and a further 3,000 amongst the over 55 age group. The youngest players have also partially lost interest in horse racing betting between Q and Q There have never been as many on line race goers (+9% in the number of active player accounts from Q to Q1 2012), the age group has lost almost 6,000 active player accounts, a fall of 26% in its population. On the other hand, all other age groups have seen a rise in player accounts. In poker, with the exception of the age group and the over 65 age group, all age groups lost active player accounts between Q and Q The age group that is most affected as for the other two activities is the one that contains the accounts of the youngest players, given that the age group has lost 20% of its player accounts.

15 15 c. Breakdown per gender Figure 16: Number of active player accounts broken down by gender Overall, in the 1 st quarter of 2012, 13% of active player accounts were held by women. This figure is rising, since female players accounted for just 12% in Q1 2011, but in number terms, 1,800 fewer accounts held by female players have been recorded. Key: 8% of active sports betting player accounts are held by women. Table 10: Breakdown trends of active player accounts per gender between Q and Q Sports bets Q Q Horse racing betting Q Q Poker Q Q Men 92% 92% 80% 81% 90% 89% Women 8% 8% 20% 19% 10% 11% In one year, there are few trends to be observed with regard to the men / women spread in the population of active player accounts. In spite of the variations in the number of active player accounts, the spread by gender remains almost stable.

16 16 d. Breakdown per geographic origin The geographic breakdown figures should be handled with caution. This is because the counting of active player accounts instead of individual players related to the French adult population broken down per département defines a density indicator of player accounts from among the population of potential players. These densities have been calculated from French population data estimated as at 1 January 2009 by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE, 48.4 million adults in France). i. Sports bets Figure 17: Geographic breakdown of the population of sports betting player accounts Overseas Plus de 0,8% De 0,4% à 0,5% De 0,7% à 0,8% De 0,3% à 0,4% De 0,6% à 0,7% Moins de 0,3% De 0,5% à 0,6% Key: The number of active player accounts in the Bouches du Rhône département represent more than 0.8% of its adult population. In total, 338,000 player accounts were active in sports bets in the first quarter of 2012, i.e. a fall of 3% compared with the first quarter of In Q1 2012, the départements with the largest number of active player accounts are the Bouches du Rhône, Nord and Paris, with over 13,000 active player accounts each. This Top 3 has remained generally stable since the market opened, even if the order differs from one quarter to the next.

17 17 The Ile de France region continues to win new active player accounts. In Q1 2012, it registered almost 74,000 active player accounts in sports bets, i.e. 22% of all accounts. Furthermore, most sports punters come from départements that are home to large sports clubs (football, rugby, etc.). Table 11: Départements that have lost the most active player accounts in sports betting between Q and Q Number of player accounts lost Q trends versus Q Rhône 1,028 8% 33 Gironde 559 6% 14 Calvados % 07 Ardèche % 75 Paris 446 3% The départements that have proportionately lost the most player accounts are Cantal ( 24%), Ardèche ( 22%), and Ariège( 16%). However, 43 départements out of 101 added player accounts between Q and Q It should be noted that the largest increases in the number of player accounts during the year were all in South Eastern France (Bouches du Rhône, Hérault, and the Corsican départements).

18 18 ii. Horse racing betting Figure 18: Geographic breakdown of the population of horse racing betting player accounts Overseas Plus de 0,8% De 0,4% à 0,5% De 0,7% à 0,8% De 0,3% à 0,4% De 0,6% à 0,7% Moins de 0,3% De 0,5% à 0,6% In total, 316,000 player accounts were active in horse racing betting in the first quarter of 2012, a rise of 9% compared with the first quarter of Like in the previous quarter, the départements with the largest number of active player accounts are the Nord, Pas de Calais and Bouches du Rhône, with over 10,000 player accounts each. In Q1 2012, on line horse racing betting increased across France. No French département has a density of horse racing betting active player accounts that is less than 0.3% of its adult population. 15 départements have a density in excess of 0.8% of their adult population (as opposed to 11 in Q1 2011). Table 12: Départements that have gained the most active horse racing betting player accounts between Q and Q Gain in number of player accounts Q trends versus Q Nord +1, % 62 Pas de Calais % 77 Seine et Marne % 13 Bouches du Rhône % 91 Essonne %

19 19 The départements that have, proportionately, gained most player accounts are Haute Corse (+25%), Lozère (+22%), and Guyane (+20%). iii. Poker Figure 19: Geographic breakdown of the population of poker player accounts Overseas Plus de 1,8% De 1,0% à 1,2% De 1,6% à 1,8% De 0,8% à 1,0% De 1,4% à 1,6% Moins de 0,8% De 1,2% à 1,4% In total, 772,000 player accounts were active in poker in the first quarter of 2012, i.e. a fall of 3% with respect to the first quarter of As for the other two activities, the départements with the greatest number of active player accounts are Nord, Paris, and Bouches du Rhône, with almost 30,000 active player accounts each. However, those three départements are also amongst those that have lost the most active player accounts between Q and Q

20 20 Table 13: Départements that have lost the most active player accounts in poker between Q and Q Number of player accounts lost Q trends versus Q Paris 3,748 11% 13 Bouches du Rhône 1,928 6% 23 Creuse 1,758 57% 59 Nord 1,733 5% 92 Hauts de Seine 1,378 6% The départements that, proportionately, have lost the most player accounts are Creuse ( 57%), Guadeloupe ( 36%), and Martinique ( 25%). In spite of the overall reduction in the number of active player accounts in poker, 45 départements out of 101 have seen their population of player accounts increase, with significant rises in some cases (+2,459 player accounts in Finistère, +1,793 in Côte d Or, and +1,048 in Drôme).

21 21 e. Breakdown of the player accounts population into bets accumulated i. Sports bets Figure 9: Breakdown trends for the population of sports betting player accounts according to their quarterly betting between Q and Q Key: 37% of active sports betting player accounts staked between 0 and 30 in the 1 st quarter of 2012 versus 40% in Q By breaking down the population of active player accounts by bet amounts placed during the quarter, it can be observed that for sports bets, 61% of player accounts bet less than 100 per quarter, whereas the figure was 67% in the first quarter of Conversely, the share of player accounts betting amounts of between 100 and 3,000 is on the rise, since they account for 36% of active player accounts in Q1 2012, as opposed to 31% in Q The population of player accounts betting over 3,000 per quarter is stable at 3% of the total population of sports bets player accounts. In Q1 2012, it was noted that 190 active player accounts bet more than 50k during the quarter (the figure was 181 in Q4 2011).

22 22 ii. Horse racing betting Figure 10: Breakdown trends for the population of horse betting player accounts according to their quarterly bets between Q and Q Analysis of trends in the population of horse racing betting player accounts between Q and Q appears at least initially to show considerable stability in the activity. With few exceptions, trends are absolutely identical at the start of 2011 and the start of However, although the breakdown of the population is stable overall, the population itself shows noteworthy trends. In a single year, 25,000 additional player accounts were active during the quarter, and each betting group saw its population rise. It should be noted that the number of player accounts that bet over 50,000 during the 1 st quarter of 2012 stood at 239 accounts, as opposed to 201 in Q In total, the average bet per active player accounts stood at 144 in 2012, as was the case in 2011.

23 23 iii. Poker Figure 11: Breakdown trends for the population of cash game players according to their quarterly bets between Q and Q The relative share of player accounts that bet less than 100 during the quarter is on the rise (+2 points), the general population of active player accounts in cash game retained a certain stability in its make up during the quarter. Further to the overall reduction of 9% in the population of active player accounts in cash game, all betting groups have lost player accounts. The groups that are most affected are those containing accounts that bet between 10,000 and 100,000 during the quarter: 27% of active player accounts bet between 10,000 and 30,000 during the quarter between Q and Q1 2012, 29% of active player accounts placed bets of between 30,000 and 100,000. The player account population having bet over 100,000 during the quarter also fell to 2,385 in the first quarter of 2012, as against 2,472 in the first quarter of 2011, a fall of 4%.

24 24 Figure 12: Breakdown trends for the population of poker tournament player accounts according to their quarterly entry fees between Q and Q In tournaments as in the cash game and in spite of variations in the number of player accounts, the population spread by entry fee group has remained almost unchanged. However, trends have been observed in the number of active player accounts in each group between the 1 st quarter of 2011 and the 1 st quarter of 2012: All groups of player accounts having placed bets of between 0 and 3,000 during the quarter have seen their population increase, from +2% (groups from 0 to 30 and from 100 to 300) to +6% (group from 300 to 1,000). To the contrary, all groups of player accounts having bet over 3,000 have experienced a fall in population: 4% for the group from 3,000 to 10,000, 22% for 10,000 to 50,000, and 49% for the population of player accounts having committed over 50,000 in entry fees during the quarter.

25 25 f. Player accounts generating the most bets Figure 13: Centile of player accounts betting the most Figure 14: Decile of player accounts betting the most Key: 1% of sports betting player accounts staked 38% of the betting total for the quarter Key: 10% of sports betting player accounts staked 80% of the betting total for the quarter On average and all activities taken together: 1% of players generate 51% of all bets, and 10% of players generate 86% of all bets. Cash game is the activity to which the most active players commit the largest share of bets: 1% of players generate 59% of bets, and 10% of players generate 90% of bets. Table 7: Trend in the relative weight of the upper centile and decile between Q and Q Sports bets Q Q Horse racing betting Q Q Cash game Q Q Tournament Q Q Upper centile bets 40% 38% 28% 30% 58% 59% 34% 37% Upper decile bets 81% 80% 70% 71% 86% 90% 79% 78% In light of trends of relative weights of upper centiles and deciles in player accounts between Q and Q1 2012, it is observed that player accounts placing the largest sports bets weigh slightly less than a year ago, whereas the other three activities have been strengthened.

26 26 3. Topping up habits a. Amounts and payment frequencies On average, 220 were deposited in each active player account during the 1 st quarter of 2012, i.e. 73 per month per player account. Provisioning thus reached a level close to that of Q1 2011, with an average of 223 per active player account. What's more, each player account was topped up on average 6.9 times through the last quarter of 2011 or 2.3 times per month and per player account versus 6.1 times on average as at Q The average top up amount each time therefore amounts to 32 as at the 1 st quarter of 2012, versus 37 as at Q Figure 20: Amount of average quarterly payments per active player account Figure 21: Average quarterly frequency of payments per active player account Key: on average, 147 was paid into an year old player account in Q1 2012, versus 141 in Q Key: on average, an year old player account was topped up 5.4 times in Q1 2012, versus 4.7 times in Q In total, online players paid 297m into their accounts through the 1 st quarter of 2012, versus 277m in the 1 st quarter of 2011, i.e. a 7% increase in one year. Table 14: Comparison of payment and withdrawal frequencies through Q compared with Q Number of player accounts topped up... Number of player accounts from which withdrawals were made... 1 to 12 times Q Q to 89 times Q Q More than 90 times Q Q % 84% 13% 16% 0.5% 0.6% 97% 97% 3% 3% 0.02% 0.04% We can observe that between Q and Q1 2012, the proportion of player accounts topped up more than once a week is growing (+3 points), while the frequency of withdrawals is stable.

27 27 Overall, there are fewer player accounts that were provisioned in Q than in Q1 2011, ( 48,000 accounts), and more accounts from which withdrawals were made (+10,000 accounts). b. Payment methods used Figure 22: Payment methods used (in % of payments) During this quarter, the spread of payment methods used by players has been marked by an increase in the share of pre paid cards. In the 1 st quarter of 2012, 10% of deposits were made using pre paid cards, as opposed to 7% in Q1 2011, an increase of almost 9m. Conversely, transfers have fallen from 4% in Q to just 1% in Q For all that, bank cards are still the most commonly used payment method for online players. Key: for 87% of sums paid in to player accounts, online players used bank cards.

28 28 4. Gambling habits a. Player accounts connection times Figure 23: Sports punters' connection times Figure 24: Horse racing punters' connection times Figure 25: Poker player connection times Key: on average, more than 40,000 accounts connected every day of the week on sports betting websites between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Concerning online player gambling practices and bets, there has been little change between the 1 st quarters of 2011 and Overall, sports punters are continuing to connect to websites mainly in the daytime and evening, when the main sporting competitions are being broadcast. Live betting accounts for 49% of stakes and 24% of bets recorded at the end of the 1 st quarter of In the first quarter, the matches of the Champions League and the Europa League were played on weekdays (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday), so it was not illogical to observe a sustained presence of player accounts on sports bet web sites during the week. Horse racing punters log on in the daytime and evening, just before the races begin, so as to get the latest updates on the going, analysis of the horses running and any non runners. They connect more often in the evening on weekdays since the national evening or semi evening meetings mainly take place in the week. In poker games, web sites see a fall in traffic during the day, both during the week and at weekends. That observation can be compared with the bunching of the cash game activity, which attracted fewer active player accounts during this quarter ( 9% of active player accounts).

29 29 b. Connection devices used Since the online gambling market opened up to competition, increasing numbers of operators are choosing to develop a mobile range accessible from a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet. Further to requests made by on line gaming and betting operators, the ARJEL board approved a number of software packages over the last few months, thus enabling those operators to offer their mobile ranges. Not surprisingly, these new connection devices are swiftly gaining ground in the three regulated sectors. Figure 26: Connection devices used by active player accounts broken down per activity Key: 14% of active player accounts on sports betting websites logged on via a mobile phone or smartphone. During this quarter, sports bet players confirmed their interest in mobile ranges: 14% of them used mobile phones and 1% used digital tablets. By way of comparison, in the 1 st quarter of 2011, the figures were half as great. The proportion of race goers using mobile supports to connect to the web sites of horse racing betting operators is also on the rise with respect to Q1 2011: mobile use accounts for 12% of connexions in Q1 2012, as opposed to 8% a year ago. This increase is explained by the increase in the number of mobile application offered by operators to their players over the last few months. Poker remains the activity in which digital tablets are proportionately most used, together with a rise in the use of mobile phones and smart phones, due in particular to the appearance of new applications specially designed for the small screens of telephones. In Q1 2011, fewer than 4% of player accounts connected using a mobile support. The number has increased almost fourfold (15%). Table 15: Mobile players' population trends between Q and Q Players connecting via their smartphone Players connecting via their tablet Q Q Q Q Sports bets 38,384 49, ,712 Horse racing 24,719 34, ,773 betting Poker 29, ,306 3,879 24,746

30 30 5. Marketing expenses of accredited operators a. Monthly trends of accredited operators' media budgets Figure 27: Monthly trends of the gross market budgets excl. VAT of online gambling operators Source: YACAST barometer The budgets presented above include the following media: Television, Radio, Press, Cinema, Posters and Internet. After an initial year of an open market, in which on line gaming and betting operators invested significant amounts in marketing, budgets appear to have levelled off at between 10 and 20 million euros a month since August Between the 1 st quarter of 2011 and the 1 st quarter of 2012, the media budgets of on line gaming operators fell by 44%. Table 16: Quarterly trends of online gambling operators' marketing budgets Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Media marketing budgets 90m 93m 86m 73m 32m 48m 48m Source: YACAST barometer Nonetheless, some operators continue to account for the lion s share of amounts invested: at the beginning of 2012, 4 operators accounted for 80% of all advertising budgets in the on line gaming sector.

31 31 b. Breakdown of operators' total marketing expenses Figure 28: Breakdown of operators' (net) marketing expenses over the 1 st quarter of 2012 In the 1 st quarter of 2012, carrying on from the two previous quarters, on line gaming and betting operators increased the share allocated to bonuses and to sponsorship offers in their marketing budgets. This budget line rose by 39% between Q and Q Conversely, the amount given over to buying space in the media fell sharply from 2011 to 2012, with a budget reduction of 38%. Key: In the 1 st quarter of 2012, 1% of operators net expenses went to buy space in the printed press. From an overall point of view, over and above the reduction in operators marketing budgets, there is also the matter of changes in practices: rather than dealing with the general public, investments seem to be refocused on more targeted actions that are increasingly personalised in line with player profiles. Table 17: Breakdown trends for operators' net marketing expenses between Q and Q Q Q Trends Written press 3% 1% 2 pts TV Radio Cinema Posters 23% 12% 11 pts Internet 21% 18% 3 pts Other media expenses 3% 1% 2 pts Bonuses and friend referrals 37% 55% +22 pts Other non media expenses 4% 4% Sponsorship 9% 9%

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