France's Online Poker Market Continues To Struggle

France's online poker market is continuing to struggle, as the country's gaming regulators were informed that industry turnover for the first half of 2013 has fallen by 14% compared to the same period last year to €2.7 billion.

Although it has a regulated online gambling market, France's heavy taxes and a smaller player pool create challenges for the European giant. Online poker tournaments performed a bit better, with wagers being taken in holding steady with €713 million for the first half. That number is offset though by gross gaming revenues, which were down 12% and active players falling to 906,000 (down 7%).

French sports betting and horse racing were positives for the online gaming industry, as online sportsbooks have brought in €402 million with gross gaming revenues up 11.5%.

Horse racing saw its gross gaming revenues jump up 2.5% to €137 million with wagering up 2%.

With the flagging online poker numbers, it will certainly be interesting to see if France changes its tune on tight regulations in favor of growing the market.