France’s gambling sector recorded a massive 52 percent year-on-year revenue growth for the first quarter of 2019.

According to the figures posted by the French igaming regulator L’Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL), the first quarter revenue increased from €281m (in 2018) to €357m (£309.8m/$400.0m).

Sports betting revenues jumped from €147m in Q1 of 2018 to €222m for the first three months in 2019. It is also the highest quarterly revenue generated since sports betting was regulated in France.

Wagers placed on sporting events increased 51 percent to €1.28bn. It was €847m for the same period, the previous year.

Football continued to be the most popular amongst gamblers and betting enthusiasts. A total of €716.8m was wagered on football games, up 54% on €464.9m wagered during the same period in 2018.

With total wagers placed on Tennis recorded €250.0m, the figure posted was up by 53 percent year-on-year.

Revenue from online poker slipped slightly in the first quarter. It was sliced by 1 percent €69m in 2018 to €68m. Wagers placed on cash games were also down by 3 percent from €1.106bn the previous year to €1.106bn in 2019.

First quarter online gambling revenue had also increased by 25 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Last year’s growth was also attributed to the increase in revenues in the sports betting sector.