When will we see soccer players back on a field, tennis players entering the court, cyclists riding their bikes again? In Europe, nobody really knows. The raging coronavirus epidemic currently prevents a reliable schedule for the return of sports competitions. In the meantime, sports betting sites are diving.
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This is a real setback for this economic sector, which has been booming since the authorization of internet betting in 2010: in 2019, it generated more than 850 million euros in turnover. But now. Now, instead of hundreds of competitions to try your luck, there is only the obscure Belarusian football championship.
90% drop in turnover
"For sports betting, it's an absolute disaster: turnover has fallen by more than 90%", deplores Emmanuel de Rohan Chabot, founder of the sports betting site Ze Bet and president of the French gaming association online. "There is no more football, with the exception of the Belarusian championship, which is not contested all the time either. There is no longer any tennis, which must account for almost 20% of bets, and more basketball. " If we take the example of the FDJ, this year it anticipates a loss of 120 million euros in this sector.
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Horse racing bets, on the other hand, are not completely stopped since races still exist as in Sweden. But it is especially the sites which offer poker which resist the best to this slump. Since containment, attendance at these sites has increased. However, out of the thirteen operators of online games approved in France, who all offer sports betting, some may not survive the current crisis.