The poker ecosystem: TV, online gaming and casinos

I’m often asked by journalists whether online gaming is (unfair?) competition for French casinos.  I don’t think so.  In fact, every poker player has a cycle of discovery and online gaming is part of the ecosysystem of poker in France. A lambda player will discover the game at a friend’s house or on TV (first with Patrick Bruel on Canal (like Sky in UK) , but now on most digital channels), then get acquainted with the game, probably for free, and will begin to play on the internet.

What’s more, only online poker sites (legal or not, that’s another topic) offer internet users the possibility to play for free or for a few cents!  It’s the only way to learn without getting bled dry. The only way to take lessons, to understand the rules, to see videos, to watch games live.

There are also associations in this ecosystem which play a crucial role.  They organise free or paid games, but they are always private games, often to add to the glitz of poker.  Let us not forget the magazines and the internet sites who report news from the poker world.

Today, in French casinos, the minimum ‘stake’ amount is generally €200, and for bets it’s €2.  And the casino deducts 4% (uncapped / with approximately 42% tax).  It’s expensive but often justified as ‘live’ poker has a cost (human cost, rent, etc …), whereas virtual poker is clearly cheaper.

After 5 years in online poker, and having analysed the French market in particular, I think that there wouldn’t be poker in French casinos, if online poker hadn’t been so successful.  There isn’t any competition between a casino and an online poker site.  They complement each other – even need each other.  France now has its own poker culture.

What’s really abnormal is that French casinos must meet regulations and this delays their chance at transposing something they practice in their establishments onto the Net, (unlike the French mainly state-owned lottery provider: la Française de Jeux).

However, yesterday le Groupe Tranchant revealed that it wanted to tackle illegal sites.  I can only understand that; the group is defending its own interests, even if the definition of legality is completely relative.  Under what criteria is a site present on the French territory?  Accepting clients isn’t illegal.  However, promoting in the French market could be?  What is promotion?  Who deems it as such?  This all still remains vague and probably unfair.

If French casinos put poker sites into jeopardy, I think they would be shooting themselves in the foot. Today, casinos have more to gain from a stronger poker market than they do if the situation was the other way around.  Online gaming is not the main cause of French casinos’ fall in revenue – it’s a global trend. You have to deal with it and adapt.

One thing is for sure; French regulation must be implemented as soon as possible so as to enable all operators to be on an equal footing.

In the meantime, my company Chilipoker, which has more than 100,000 clients in 30 or so countries, can’t wait for this regulation to come out.  We have made the decision not to advertise in France, at the request of the government.  We are not present in French poker magazines, we do not sponsor French players, we don’t have any links with French associations, we don’t organise free tournaments on French soil.  That is my choice; probably a naïve one, however, I communicate through the media, as a French entrepreneur, to teach people about the online gambling industry.

To compensate for this naiveté, in February 2009, we have signed a partnership with Groupe Iliad (Free) to be able to promote our services (sports betting and poker) and open up our market to their base of 4.3 million French households (our estimation is that Free currently represents 40% of online poker players – young people, city dwellers, IT enthusiasts,….).  This is to try and catch up on ourselves. The road ahead is long but most importantly, we continuously endevour to satisfy our clients.