Betting this year to date is up by 0,6% in France. of a total handle of €4,7 B, around 7,2% is online. Growth is expected to pick up to a level of 6% in the seond half of 2009.

Meanwhile, figures released by Equibase.com show a 17% decline in handle in June compared to June last year. Year to date handle is down by over 10%. The drop can partly be explained by a 2% drop in number of race days this year.