French Poker Sites Added to PokerScout Traffic Rankings

With the new French gambling laws in effect for more than a month now, PokerScout.com’s Weekly Online Poker Traffic Update included its first estimates of the market last week. Early on, it appears that PokerStars.fr and EverestPoker.fr are drawing the most new players, while Ongame and PartyPoker‘s French networks have started slowly in comparison.

PokerScout, which monitors real money cash games and ranks the sites and networks according to seven-day averages, reported PokerStars.fr debuting in ninth place worldwide last week. As of July 22, PokerStars.fr has a seven-day average of 1,280 cash game players on the site, and PokerScout reported a peak of 2,276 players in the past week. EverestPoker.fr came in at #14 worldwide last week and is currently reporting a seven-day average of 850 cash game players with a peak of 1,430.

Bwin.fr came in at 22nd last week, but has already improved its ranking to 18th in a matter of days. PokerScout reports a seven-day average of 630 players and a peak of 1,243 for Bwin.fr, which launched on June 21. PartyPoker.fr, which was originally hoping to be one of the front runners when it first received its license on June 28, debuted at #24 in the PokerScout rankings, but has climbed to 22nd with a seven-day average of 400 cash game players as of this posting.

Overall, the licensed French sites accounted for approximately 4% of all online poker players worldwide last week. A total of 11 operators currently have a license to operate within French borders, with the joint poker network of 888 and Microgaming preparing to launch soon after receiving its license this week. French-based operators Casino du Golfe, Groupe Tranchant, and JOI are expected to be added to the list of licensees by October.

On Wednesday, ARJEL (National Regulatory Authority of the French online gambling market) granted ChiliPoker a license to operate an online poker room in France. Chilipoker is part of the iPoker Network and will become the first operator to launch on the new French iPoker Network. Other sites obtaining licenses since the start of the month include Winamax and BetClic.

The change in gaming procedures began back in March 2009 when France proposed new laws to regulate and tax internet gambling. A year later, ARJEL issued a Draft Specification Requirements List that must be fulfilled by online gambling operators willing to obtain a license to offer games of chance to French consumers. Each of the aforementioned sites have abided by the listed requirements and qualified for a license. Now that the online gambling sector has opened, more French players are gambling at both France-based and foreign sites online.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for more news on the French gambling market.

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Poker slang:

HIT - To make a hand or catch a card or cards that improves one's hand. "I hit a gut-shot draw on the river."
TABLE STAKES - A standard rule whereby during a hand players can only bet the money they have on the table. If the bet to a player is more than the player's stack, that player may call with all his chips and be eligible to win only that portion of the pot he contributed to equally. A side pot is created, for which only the remaining players may compete.
UNDER THE GUN - The position that has to act first in a round of betting.
CHECK RAISE - To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round. Frequently a sign of strength, but may be a bluff.
DEAD MAN'S HAND - Generically: two pair, aces and eights. Specifically: the black aces, black eights and nine of diamonds. The hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death.
HOYLE - Edmund Hoyle (1769-?) was the authoritative source for rules of card games. Hoyle is to card rules as Webster is to word definitions.

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