Winter is often the best season for online gambling, as more people play poker online when it’s cold outside. And this year is no different! First-quarter reports are coming in from Europe, and they all say the same: online poker is more popular than ever.
In France, gambling venues with a local license brought in €435M in the first three months of 2020. And interestingly enough, online poker accounts for 23% of the profits.
As it turns out, online poker revenues rose by 44% compared to last year, as it brought in €98M. And most importantly, this gambling category can be divided into two sub-sections: cash games and tournaments. Reports show that revenues from poker cash games rose by 25%, while online tournaments saw a 54% year-on-year spike.
However, in Denmark, the numbers are a bit more confusing. When you compare the total Q1 revenue to last year, things seem like they haven’t changed much. In the first part of 2020, regulated venues brought in about €131M, compared to €130M in the previous year.
And Online....
At the same time, online betting brought in a €57.1M revenue, while last year the income stood at €55.5M. Online casinos, on the other hand, generated a €74.5M revenue, compared to €75M earned in 2019. The changes aren’t that significant, showing that people haven’t changed their gambling patterns much.
But when you take a closer look at the numbers, you realise that the plateau in revenues is actually a good sign. In the past couple of years, the amount of cash generated by online venues has declined slightly. That made experts believe that locals are no longer interested in placing bets online. However, now it seems like the numbers have stopped dropping, indicating that players still enjoy playing poker and casino games online.
In Conclusion
In many countries, 2020 has been generous to the online poker industry. What will the rest of the year bring? Let’s wait and find out!