Quarterly analysis of the online games market in France

Transcription

1 1 31 December 2011 Quarterly analysis of the online games market in France Last quarter 2011

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 last quarter of This study only looks at active players' accounts, i.e. those that have played at least once over the period. Sports bets Although in the last quarter of 2011 the amount of sports bets placed is once again down by 23% compared with the last quarter of 2010 for almost the same number of sports competitions, it was the best quarter of Two reasons can be given to partly explain this sharp decline compared with 2010: the reduction in players' return on investment (ROI) from 84% as at Q to 82% as at Q4 2011, implying less profit recycling and loss of appeal for accredited sports betting websites the reduction in operators' marketing expenses by almost 50%, Note that the reduction in ROI enabled operators to limit the fall in gross gaming revenue (i.e. the turnover) to 10% compared with the last quarter of Sports bets Q Q Difference Bets 200m 154m -23% Gross Gaming Income 31m 28m -10% Horse racing betting Horse racing betting, meanwhile, is steadily stabilising since betting levels in the last quarter of 2011 were the same as in the 3 rd quarter of 2011 ( 270m) which is up by +12% compared with the last quarter of The gross gaming revenue (GGR) remains high, even though it has dipped by 3% compared with the 3 rd quarter of 2011 ( 69m). Between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, the 29% rise in GGR automatically brought about a decline in players' ROI from 78% at the end of 2010 to 76% at the end of Horse racing betting Q Q Difference Bets 240m 268m +12% Gross Gaming Income 51m 66m +29% Poker In the last quarter of 2011, the two poker markets (cash game and tournament) grew in opposite directions. The cash game is slightly less popular than in Q with 3% fewer bets having been placed, while tournament poker is continuing its steady rise in popularity, with entry fees increasing by 24% in Q compared with Q Despite the good turnout for tournaments, operators' gross gaming revenue has shrunk by 6% compared with the last quarter of 2010 and hit a quarterly record low for 2011, mainly due to the decrease in cash game betting. Poker Q Q Difference Cash game bets 1,923m 1,869m -3% Tournament entry fees 261m 324m +24% Gross Gaming Income 81m 76m -6%

3 3 Summary of qualitative data In Q4 2011, 1.2 million players' accounts were active in at least one of the regulated activities. This marks a 4% increase compared with Q In total, online players paid 264 m into their accounts during Q4 2011, which corresponds to an average of 71 per month and per player's account. In Q4 2010, the average monthly payment was 65. On average, each player's account was topped up 2.3 times a month in Q4 2011, versus 1.7 times a month in Q Sports bets In sports betting, there are 17% fewer active players' accounts in Q than in Q This is mainly due to the 22% decrease in year-old players. With regard to gaming practices, players are increasingly logging on to sports betting websites from new technologies, such as mobile phones, smartphones or tablet computers. Accordingly, 12% of the total population of sports punters connected via these new technologies in Q4 2011, versus 10% in Q The typical sports punter profile hasn't changed much. He is still overwhelmingly male, urbanite and based in the Parisian region or South-East France. Horse racing betting In horse racing betting, the number of active players' accounts has crept up by 5% between Q and Q This increase is mainly due to the 13% rise in numbers of year-old players or 6,000 more players' accounts. The proportion of female players has risen from 19% in Q to 20% in Q Horse racing punters are also connecting more and more frequently from mobile technologies: during Q4 2011, 11% of the total population of horse racing punters connected from a phone or tablet, versus 10% in Q These punters mainly based in rural areas still tend to live in North-West France where horse racing is very popular. Poker The number of active poker players' accounts is up by 5% compared with Q The populations of players' accounts have nevertheless progressed differently depending on activity: while the number of active players' accounts in tournaments has jumped by 16%, the number of active players' accounts in the cash game has dropped by 10%. The overall increase in the population of poker players is mainly due to the 16% rise in year olds as at the last quarter of What's more, the proportion of female poker players has grown from 9% of the total population as at Q to 11% by Q In Q4 2011, 12% of poker players used mobile technology, versus 10% in Q Within the three regulated activities, poker players make most frequent use of tablet computers, probably because of the need to see a bigger screen. French Authority for the Regulation of Online

4 4 Contents 1. Last-quarter activity... 5 a. Market data at the end of December i. Sports bets... 5 ii. Horse racing betting... 7 iii. Poker... 8 b. Breakdown of the players' accounts population by bets accumulated i. Sports bets ii. Horse racing betting iii. Poker c. Players' accounts generating the most bets Breakdown of the population of active players' accounts a. Active players' accounts trends per activity b. Breakdown of active players' accounts per age group c. Breakdown per gender d. Breakdown per geographic origin i. Sports bets ii. Horse racing betting iii. Poker Topping up habits a. Amounts and payment frequencies b. Payment methods used Playing habits a. Players' 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 French Authority for the Regulation of Online

5 5 1. Last-quarter activity a. Market data at the end of December 2011 i. Sports bets Figure 1: Weekly sports betting trends 1-June 1-July 1-August 1-Sept 1-Oct. 1-Nov 1-Dec. 1-Jan. 1-Feb. 1-March 1-April 1-May 1-June SPORTS BETS SPORTS BETS Sports betting overall has displayed the same trends as in the last quarter of 2010, based on the calendar of sports competitions even though fewer were placed in 2011 than in That said, the differences tend to diminish at the quarter's close and the level of betting at the year end was the same in terms of figures recorded as in As at the last quarter of 2011, the amount of weekly bets amounted to an average of 11.8 m (versus 14.5 m on average per week in 2010). Active sports punters' accounts committed an average 120 a week and 6.10 per bet compared with 110 and 7.50 in 2010 respectively. The increase in average weekly bets can particularly be explained by the reduction in number of active players' accounts between 2010 and 2011, especially the loss of some occasional players who only committed small amounts in 2010 drawn by the wide media coverage on the back of the market opening. Once the novelty wore off, many of these players subsequently dropped out. The programme during the last quarter of 2011 was more or less identical to the one in the same quarter of 2010 with few international one-offs taking place over these last few months. The only sizeable event in terms of bets generated, at the beginning of the closing quarter of 2011, was the Rugby World Cup during the last three weeks of which 3.6 million euros in extra bets were placed. It's worth noting, however, that the NBA season's delay in getting under way automatically added to the slump in betting in Q as the USA Basketball Championships generated 7m in bets in the same quarter of French Authority for the Regulation of Online

6 Betting for the main recurring competitions of the period fell by 10% and only the football Champions League managed to outdo its 2010 performance. Table 2: Bets recorded on the main recurring sports competitions of Q and 2011 Competition Q bets Q Trends BNP Paribas Masters 3,896 k 3,007 k -23% French Ligue 1 16,700 k 14,054 k -16% French Ligue 2 4,492 k 3,517 k -22% Champions League 8,128 k 8,690 k +7% Europa League 5,778 k 4,641 k -20% TOTAL 38,994 k 33,909 k -13% 6 Moreover, the figures for the last two weeks of 2011 particularly dismal from the point of view of the sports calendar, given the end of the tennis season and football winter break applying to most European championships tend to confirm the existence of a "loyal core of sports punters" playing during all the quiet periods. Incidentally, we can observe that the minimum volume of bets generated by this "loyal core" hasn't decreased all that much since 2010, peaking at around 7.5 m. Table 1: Quarterly trends for sports bets and gross gaming revenue for this sector Sports bets Q Q (*) Q Q Q Q Bets 189m 200m 448m 147m 146m 145m 154m 592m Gross Gaming Income 38m 31m 79m 33m 25m 29m 28m 115m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 80% 84% 82% 78% 83% 80% 82% 81% Bonuses given out 6.1m 3.4m 9.5m 2.6m 2.9m 2.5m 2.5m 10.5m Players' ROI (including bonuses) 83% 86% 85% 79% 85% 82% 83% 82% (*) Including one month in Q Although the quarterly amount of sports bets has reached new lows down 23% - and is nowhere near the sums banked in the last quarter of 2010, it still marks an improvement compared with the 3 rd quarter of This sharp decline can partly be explained by the downturn in players' return on investment from 84% in Q to 82% in Q applied by operators compelled to reduce redistribution to players in order to ensure their medium-term viability. This therefore reduced the appeal of accredited websites and the phenomenon of recycling profits. Figure 2: Breakdown of 2011 bets per sport In 2011, football and tennis are still the two most popular sports for punters, amassing 80% of all wagers. The proportion of "Other sports" ( Autres on Figure 2) is double what it was in 2010, when it accounted for a mere 2% of bets. Accordingly, the 2011 figures for other, less mediatised, disciplines are: ice hockey: 6.2m of bets, table tennis: 3.9m of bets, baseball: 3.4m of bets. French Authority for the Regulation of Online Key: At the close of the last quarter of 2011, 55% of bets placed concerned football.

7 7 The 23% drop in bets is unevenly distributed across the different disciplines on which bets are placed: Table 3: Betting trends per sport between Q and Q Sports Trends Football -18% Tennis -36% Basketball -43% Rugby +65% Volleyball -28% Handball +42% Other sports -11% The decrease in basketball betting can mainly be explained by the delay at the start of the NBA season at the end of 2011, and the hike in rugby bets is largely due to the last 3 weeks of the World Cup falling in this quarter. Note that, overall in 2011, 52% of stakes were placed live, for 23% of bets, mainly in tennis (72% of stakes) and volleyball (81% of stakes), while live betting on football only account for 41% of total bets on this sport. Table 4: Bets recorded on sports competitions in France and estimation of the betting duty Q Q Q Q Q Q Bets on competitions in France 19.0m 34.0m 19.6m 35.2m 19.4m 27.9m Estimation of the betting duty 190k 340k 205k 368k 203k 291k In total, in 2011, 1,067k was paid out by operators to sports competition organisers in betting duties compared with 530k in Football represents 64% of the 2011 amount, and tennis 18%. ii. Horse racing betting Figure 3: Weekly horse racing betting trends 1-June 1-July 1-August 1-Sept 1-Oct. 1-Nov 1-Dec. 1-Jan. 1-Feb. 1-March 1-April 1-May 1-June HORSE RACING BETS HORSE RACING BETS French Authority for the Regulation of Online

8 8 In the last quarter of 2011, the level of horse racing betting broke through a new barrier, rising to an average of 20.9m per week. The record of bets generated in a single week was even smashed in the very last week of the year with 23.6m of bets. The quarter's betting total is up by 12% compared with Q As with sports betting, the average weekly stakes per player's account and per bet are higher than in 2010, rising from 125 per week and 4.10 per bet to 150 per week and 6.80 per bet. Despite the palpable drop in players' return on investment between 2010 and 2011 (from 79% in Q to 75% in Q4 2011), horse racing betting remains buoyant thanks to a constantly expanding choice (+5% in races open to bets between 2010 and 2011). Races outside France have been added to the choice on offer to punters in 2011, with 9% of all races open to bets in the last quarter of 2011 being held elsewhere, versus just 5% in the same quarter of Table 5: Quarterly horse racing gross gaming revenue and betting Horse racing betting Q Q (*) Q Q Q Q Bets 186m 240m 452m 241m 255m 270m 268m 1,034m Gross Gaming Income 39m 51m 99m 54m 54m 69m 66m 243m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 79% 79% 78% 78% 79% 74% 75% 76% Bonuses given out 4.9m 5.9m 10.8m 3.6m 3.7m 8.8m 4.0m 20.1m Players' ROI (including bonuses) 82% 81% 80% 79% 80% 78% 77% 78% (*) Including one month in Q iii. Poker Figure 4: Weekly cash game betting trends 1-July 1-August 1-Sept 1-Oct. 1-Nov 1-Dec. 1-Jan. 1-Feb. 1-March 1-April 1-May 1-June Cash game 2010 Cash game 2011 In the last quarter of 2011, cash game poker betting dipped slightly by 3%. The average betting amount per week comes to 145. As with the other activities, the average weekly bet per active player's account is up on last year at 1,035 (versus 1,000 in 2010). French Authority for the Regulation of Online

9 9 Figure 5: Weekly tournament entry fee trends 1-July 1-August 1-Sept 1-Oct. 1-Nov 1-Dec. 1-Jan. 1-Feb. 1-March 1-April 1-May 1-June Tournament 2010 Tournament 2011 Tournament poker is continuing to climb the popularity stakes, boasting a 24% increase in the total entry fees generated in the last quarter of 2011 compared with Q Weekly entry fees thus reached 27m several times over the period, when they peaked at 21m at the end of On average, the 21 operators currently in business bring in 25m each week (1 accredited operator has not yet started up). The average entry fees per player's account come to 85 a week (versus 80 in 2010). Table 6: Quarterly trends for gross gaming revenue, bets and entry fees in poker Poker Q Q Q Q Q Q Cash game bets 1,782m 1,923m 3,705m 1,921m 1,854m 1,949m 1,869m 7,593m Tournament entry fees 151m 261m 412m 271m 278m 286m 324m 1,159m Overall Gross Gaming Revenue 58m 81m 139m 81m 78m 79m 76m 314m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 97% 96% 97% 96% 96% 96% 96% 96% Bonuses given out 16m 20m 36m 16m 18m 16m 19m 69m Players' ROI (excluding bonuses) 98% 97% 98% 97% 97% 97% 97% 97% French Authority for the Regulation of Online

10 10 b. Breakdown of the players' accounts population into bets accumulated i. Sports bets By breaking down the population of active players according to their bets placed during the quarter, we can see that the vast majority of players stake low amounts across the four activities. 65% of sports punters in particular bet less than 100 per quarter, or less than 8 on average per week. Figure 6: Breakdown trends for the population of sports betting players' accounts according to their quarterly betting between Q and Q From 0 to ,000 3,000-10,000 10,000-50,000 over 50,000 Q Q Key: 65% of active sports betting players' accounts staked between 0 and 100 in the last quarter of versus 61% in Q By comparing the breakdown for the population of active players' accounts sports bets between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, we can see that a higher proportion of players betted low amounts in 2011 (+4 points). This increase in the proportion of lowest spenders pulls down the number of big-spending players committing 100 to 3,000 per quarter, but not the biggest spenders betting more than 3,000 per quarter the proportion of which(3%) has stayed stable between 2010 and Since the population of sports betting players' accounts has fallen between Q and Q however, this relative rise in the proportion of lowest spenders has not seen an actual increase in their number. They are, in fact, 11% fewer in 2011 than in The 65% lowest spenders in the last quarter of 2011 break down as follows: 41% stake between 0 and 30 over the quarter, or less than 2.30 per week on average 24% stake between 30 and 100 over the quarter Concerning players' accounts betting more than 50,000 per quarter - their population is on the rise, jumping from 150 accounts as at Q to 181 accounts as at Q French Authority for the Regulation of Online

11 11 ii. Horse racing betting Figure 7: Breakdown trends for the population of horse betting players' accounts according to their quarterly bets between Q and Q From 0 to ,000 3,000-10,000 10,000-50,000 over 50,000 Q Q In horse racing bets, the population of the lowest spenders has also become proportionally larger up by 3 points in 2011 from That said, only the share of players' accounts betting between 100 and 300 per quarter has dropped 8 points as all the other spending groups have increased. Of the 44% of accounts that bet between 0 and 100 in the last quarter of 2011, 25% bet less than 30 and the remaining 19% between 30 and 100. Concerning players' accounts betting more than 50,000 per quarter, like in the sports betting sector their population is on the rise soaring from 134 accounts as at Q to 224 accounts as at Q French Authority for the Regulation of Online

12 12 iii. Poker Figure 8: Breakdown trends for the population of cash game players according to their quarterly bets between Q and Q From 0 to ,000 3,000-10,000 10,000-50,000 over 50,000 Q Q The overall population of cash game players has fallen by 10% since the last quarter of Unlike the other betting activities, the proportion of players betting between 0 and 300 per quarter is down, while the share of other spending groups is up by one or two points for each category. This reduction in the proportion of lowest spenders is also reflected in the number of accounts: there are 17% fewer active accounts than in Q in the same spending group, while all the other spending groups have expanded. Concerning players' accounts betting more than 100,000 per quarter, their population has grown from 1,889 accounts as at Q to 2,665 accounts as at Q French Authority for the Regulation of Online

13 13 Figure 9: Breakdown trends for the population of tournament players' accounts according to their quarterly entry fees between Q and Q From 0 to ,000 3,000-10,000 10,000-50,000 over 50,000 Q Q In tournament poker, the population breakdown between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011 is more or less the same. Since there has been a boom in the population of active tournament players' accounts over this period (+16% compared to equivalent quarters), it can be deduced that this spurt has affected all of the spending groups, from the most frugal to the most spendthrift. The population of biggest spending players' accounts is nevertheless on the wane, down from 540 accounts having bet over 50,000 in Q to 374 accounts in Q French Authority for the Regulation of Online

14 14 c. Players' accounts generating the most bets Figure 10: Centile of players' accounts betting the most On average and all activities taken together: 1% of players generated 53% of the betting total. The cash game was the activity in which the most active players placed the largest proportion of bets. In % of bets Sports betting Horse racing betting Cash game Tournament Other players Upper centile Key: 1% of sports betting players' accounts staked 40% of the betting total for the quarter Figure 11: Decile of players' accounts betting the most On average and all activities taken together: 10% of players generated 86% of the betting total. In % of bets Sports betting Horse racing betting Cash game Tournament Other players Upper decile Key: 10% of sports betting players' accounts staked 81% of the betting total for the quarter French Authority for the Regulation of Online

15 15 2. Breakdown of the population of active players' accounts a. Active players' accounts trends per activity Figure 12: Weekly trends in the number of active players' accounts per activity 1-June 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sept 1-Oct. 1-Nov 1-Dec. 1-Jan. 1-Feb. 1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-June 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sept 1-Oct 1-Nov 1-Dec 1-Jan Sports bets Horse racing bets Poker At the end of 2011, and since the market opened, we count 3.5 million active players' accounts, including 2.3 million since 1 January Through the last quarter of 2011, in sports bets, the number of active players' accounts each week fluctuated depending on the competitions' calendar but without ever falling below 75,000, when this figure plummeted to 50,000 over the summer. On average, 103,000 players' accounts were active each week considerably fewer than in the same quarter of 2010 when almost 133,000 accounts had been active each week. Horse racing betting remained stable meanwhile, with some 144,000 active players' accounts on average each week (more than in Q when the average was only 130,000). There is little remarkable variation, even though the winter season which kicked off on 2 November in Vincennes drew more players than in the previous quarter. Like in 2010, the last quarter was a profitable one for online poker websites, with the weekly number of active players' accounts up overall over the period. An average of 301,000 players' accounts were therefore active each week, versus 288,000 as at Q Through 2011, 83% of active poker players' accounts took part in at least one tournament, versus 71% in the cash game.

16 16 Table 7: Quarterly trends in the number of active players' accounts Q Q Q Q Q Sports bets 406, , , , ,000 Horse racing 285, , , , ,000 betting Poker 727, , , , ,000 Between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, the number of active players' accounts in each activity changed as follows: -17% in sports bets, +5% in horse racing bets, +5% in poker bets. There are differences, however, between the two types of poker game: between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, active tournament players' accounts rose by 16% while active cash game players' accounts fell by 10%. Overall, we can note that operators have reported million active players' accounts on their websites during the last quarter of 2011.

17 17 b. Breakdown of active players' accounts per age group Figure 13: Breakdown of players' accounts per age group Global Sports bets Poker Horse racing bets year olds year olds year olds 65s and over Key: 24% of active players' accounts are aged between 18 and 24. All activities taken together, 58% of players' accounts are held by players under the age of 35. Sports punters are the youngest players, since over a third are under 25. In one year, the three populations of players have nevertheless changed significantly.

18 18 Table 8: Breakdown trends for active players' accounts per age group between Q and Q Sports bets Horse racing betting Poker Q Q Q Q Q Q years 38% 41% 7% 9% 24% 25% years 30% 29% 17% 17% 42% 43% years 27% 26% 49% 47% 30% 28% years 3% 3% 19% 18% 3% 3% 65 years and over 1% 1% 8% 9% 1% 1% In sports betting, the share of youngest players (18-24 years) has therefore shrunk to the benefit of the and age groups each of which are up by one point in Q from Q In number of players' accounts, the youngest were the most numerous to leave sports betting websites (-22% of players' accounts in the age group). In horse betting, the total population of active players' accounts has seen a rise in the "intermediate" age groups particularly players aged 55-64, up by 13% as at Q from Q In poker, the proportion of under 35s is declining, accounting for 66% of players' accounts as at Q (-2 points with regard to 2010), to the benefit of the year-old category, which has shot up (+16%). c. Breakdown per gender Figure 14: Number of active players' accounts broken down by gender Overall, in the last quarter of 2011, 12% of active players' accounts were held by women. Horse racing betting is still the most mixed activity, since one in five players' accounts are held by women. Sports bets Poker Horse racing betting Men Women Key: 8% of active sports' betting players' accounts are held by women. Table 9: Breakdown trends of active players' accounts per gender between Q and Q4 2011

19 19 Sports betting Horse racing betting Poker Q Q Q Q Q Q Men 92% 92% 80% 81% 89% 91% Women 8% 8% 20% 19% 11% 9% In one year, the breakdown of sports' punters is unchanged with the share of active players' accounts held by women still at 8%. This shows the difficulty in making sports betting appealing to women. Horse racing betting and poker, meanwhile, are showing a better representativeness of women among their players. The number of players' accounts held by women has thus increased by 24% in poker and 6% in horse racing betting between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011 much more swiftly than the total population (+5% for each of these two activities).

20 20 d. Breakdown per geographic origin A word of precaution should be borne in mind when considering the geographic breakdown figures. This is because the counting of active players' accounts instead of individual players related to the French adult population broken down per département defines a density indicator of players' 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 15: Geographic breakdown of the population of sports betting players' accounts Overseas Plus de 0,8% De 0,4% à 0,5% De 0,7% à 8% De 0,3% à 0,4% De 0,6% à 0,7% Moins de 0,3% De 0,5% à 0,6% More than 0.8% From 0.4 to 0.5% From 0.7 to 0.8% From 0.3 to 0.4% From 0.6 to 0.7% Less than 0.3% From 0.5 to 0.6% Key: The number of active players' accounts in the Bouches du Rhône département represent more than 0.8% of its adult population. The total number of active sports betting players' accounts as at the last quarter of 2011 amounts to 0.3 million. The départements with the largest number of active players' accounts are the Nord, Bouches-du-Rhône and Paris, with over 13,000 active players' accounts each.

21 21 More than 72,000 sports betting players' accounts are active in the Greater Paris region alone, making up 21% of the accounts total (when only 18% of French adults live in this region). Table 10: Départements that have lost the most active players' accounts in sports betting between Q and Q Number of players' accounts lost Q trends versus Q Bouches-du-Rhône -4,246-23% 69 - Rhône -3,944-25% 59 - Nord -2,484-15% 75 - Paris -2,173-14% 92 Hauts de Seine -2,054-17% The départements that have proportionally lost the fewest players' accounts are Reunion Island (-2%), Guadeloupe (- 6%) and the Gers (-8%). ii. Horse racing betting Figure 16: Geographic breakdown of the population of horse racing betting players' accounts Overseas Plus de 0,8% De 0,4% à 0,5% De 0,7% à 8% De 0,3% à 0,4% De 0,6% à 0,7% Moins de 0,3% De 0,5% à 0,6% More than 0.8% From 0.4 to 0.5% From 0.7 to 0.8% From 0.3 to 0.4% From 0.6 to 0.7% Less than 0.3% From 0.5 to 0.6% The total number of active horse racing betting players' accounts as at the last quarter of 2011 is 0.3 million.

22 22 The départements with the largest number of active players' accounts are the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Bouches-du- Rhône, with over 10,000 players' accounts each. In 80 out of 101 départements, the density exceeds 0.5% of the local adult population. Table 11: Départements that have gained the most active horse racing betting players' accounts between Q and Q Gain in number of players' accounts Q trends versus Q Nord +2, % 62 Pas-de-Calais +1, % 13 - Bouches-du-Rhône +1, % 92 Hauts-de-Seine +1, % 94 Val-de-Marne +1, % The départements that have proportionally gained the most players' accounts are French Guiana (+32%), the Hautes- Pyrénées (+30%) and the Deux-Sèvres (+30%). iii. Poker Figure 17: Geographic breakdown of the population of poker players' 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% More than 1.8% From 1.0 to 1.2% From 1.6 to 1.8% From 0.8 to 1.0% From 1.4 to 1.6% Less than 0.8% From 1.2 to 1.4% The total number of active horse racing betting players' accounts as at the last quarter of 2011 is 0.8 million.

23 23 The départements with the largest number of active players' accounts are the Nord, Paris and Bouches-du-Rhône the same as for sports betting, but in a different order - with nearly 30,000 active players' accounts each. The Greater Paris region does not feature quite as strongly as for sports betting, but still accounts for 19% of active players' accounts. As at the last quarter of 2011, poker playing is gaining slightly more ground in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'azur region, where 4 out of the 6 départements (Vaucluse, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes) present a higher density than 1.8% of the local adult population. Table 12: Départements that have gained the most active poker players' accounts between Q and Q Gain in number of players' accounts Q trends versus Q Pas de Calais +1, % 77 Seine et Marne +1,303 +8% 33 - Gironde +1,172 +6% 34 - Hérault +1,055 +7% 06 Alpes Maritimes % The départements that have proportionally gained the most players' accounts are the Pyrénées-Orientales (+15%), Côte-d Or (+13%) and Aude (+13%).

24 24 3. Topping up habits a. Amounts and payment frequencies On average, 212 per active player's account was paid in through the last quarter of 2011 or 71 per month per player's account versus 196 on average over Q What's more, each player's account was topped up on average 6.8 times through the last quarter of 2011 or 2.3 times per month and per player's account versus 5.1 times on average as at Q The average top-up amount each time therefore amounts to 31 as at the last quarter of 2011, versus 38 as at Q Figure 18: Amount of average quarterly payments per active player's account Figure 19: Average quarterly frequency of payments per active player's account 65 and over years years years years Key: on average, 147 was paid into an year-old player's account in Q4 2011, versus 138 in Q Key: on average, an year-old player's account was topped up 5.3 times in Q4 2011, versus 4.0 times in Q In total, online players paid 264 m into their accounts through the last quarter of 2011, versus 214 m in the last quarter of 2010, i.e. a 23% increase in one year. Table 13: Comparison of payment and withdrawal frequencies through Q compared with Q Number of players' accounts topped up... Number of players' accounts from which withdrawals were made... 1 to 12 times Q Q to 89 times Q Q More than 90 times Q Q % 87% 15% 13% 0.6% 0.4% 97% 97% 3% 3% 0.04% 0.02%

25 25 Between 2010 and 2011, the proportion of players' accounts topped up more than once a week is growing (+2 points), while the frequency of withdrawals is stable. b. Payment methods used Figure 20: Payment methods used (in % of payments) The breakdown of payment methods used by players has changed little between the last quarters of 2010 and 2011, but it can nevertheless be noted that the share of bank cards is down (-4 points), mainly in favour of pre-paid cards which are up from 4% of top-ups in Q4 2010, to 7% in Q For all that, bank cards are still the most commonly used payment method for online players. Transfers Online accounts and ewallets Pre-paid cards Bank cards Key: for 89% of sums paid in to players' accounts, online players' used bank cards.

26 26 4. Gambling habits a. Players' accounts connection times Figure 21: Sports punters' connection times Figure 22: Horse racing punters' connection times Figure 23: Poker players' connection times In number of active players accounts Week Weekend At night (midnight to 8 a.m.) In the day (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) In the evening (6 p.m. to midnight) Key: on average, more than 31,000 accounts connected every day of the week on sports betting websites between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Concerning online players' gambling practices and bets, there has been little change between the last quarters of 2010 and In sports betting, only the night-time playing population is dwindling (10,000 players' accounts connected between midnight and 8 a.m. on average in the week in Q4 2010, versus around 8,000 in Q4 2011), probably partly because of the NBA delay at the end of the year. 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 52% of stakes and 23% of bets recorded at the end of the last quarter of Horse racing punters mainly 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, although practices are generally the same as those observed in 2010, we can nevertheless note that more and more players are logging on in the evening, probably because of the rising popularity of tournaments (+16% in active tournament players' accounts between Q and Q4 2011).

27 27 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. These new connection devices are therefore swiftly gaining ground in the three regulated sectors. Figure 24: Connection devices used by active players' accounts - broken down per activity Mobile and smartphone Tablet Computer (laptop or desktop) Sports punters Horse racing punters Poker players Key: 12% of active players' accounts on sports betting websites logged on via a mobile phone or smartphone. Sports punters are the population using mobile technology the most, probably because of its development by the main market operators. Moreover, live betting requires players to stay connected throughout a fixture. Horse racing punters are also making ever more frequent use of these new technologies. Poker is the activity in which tablet computers are proportionally the most used, probably due to the need to have a bigger screen for this type of game. Table 14: Mobile players' population trends between Q and Q Players connecting via their smartphone Q Q Players connecting via their tablet Q Q Sports bets 38, (*) Horse racing ,985 (*) 2,538 - betting Poker 79,482-17,410 - (*) Connections via des smartphones with no specific application software

28 28 5. Marketing expenses of accredited operators a. Monthly trends of accredited operators' media budgets Figure 26: Monthly trends of the gross market budgets excl. VAT of online gambling operators Source: YACAST barometer June July August September October November December January February March April May The budgets presented above include the following media: Television, Radio, Press, Cinema, Posters and Internet. After a sharp decline in the 3 rd quarter of 2011, operators' monthly marketing budgets stabilised in the last quarter at around 15 million euros, but stayed significantly short of the budgets observed in Table 17: Quarterly trends of online gambling operators' marketing budgets Q Q Q Q Q Q Media marketing budgets 90m 93m 86m 73m 32m 46m Source : YACAST barometer Note that, between the last quarter of 2010 and last quarter of 2011, media budgets were slashed in half.

29 29 b. Breakdown of operators' total marketing expenses Figure 25: Breakdown of operators' net marketing expenses over the last quarter of 2011 As at the last quarter of 2011, like in Q3 2011, operators mainly spent their marketing budgets on bonuses or on buying spaces on the Internet. Between Q and Q4 2011, the breakdown of operators' marketing expenses has altered considerably, turning away from the purchase of advertising space in popular media (Press, Television and Radio) to focus instead on more targeted expenses such as the distribution of bonuses or online marketing. In terms of amounts, expenses on the written press have more than halved (-56%), as have those on TV-Radio-Cinema-Posters (-54%). Key: as at the 3 rd quarter of 2011, 2% of operators' net expenses concerned the purchase of space in the written press. Written press Other non-media expenses Total sponsorship TV-Radio-Cinema-Posters Internet Others Bonuses and friend referrals Table 15: Breakdown trends for operators' net marketing expenses between Q and Q Q Q Trends Written press 3% 2% -1 pt TV-Radio-Cinema-Posters 20% 12% -8 pts Internet 16% 20% +4 pts Other media expenses 3% 2% -1 pt Bonuses and friend referrals 38% 50% +12 pts Other non-media expenses 14% 5% -9 pts Sponsorship 6% 9% +3 pts If you have any further enquiries, please presse@arjel.fr

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