The French casino sector was hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, sustaining losses of 24.3 percent from November 2019 until October 2020, according to the Ministry of Interior’s Central Service of Races and Games.
Gross gaming revenues peaked at €1.831 billion (US$2.2 billion), compared to €2.418 billion in 2018-19, for the lowest numbers since 2012-13.
Philippe Ménard, head of the Racing and Games Service, observed that larger companies “suffered more strongly than … small groups or independents on average overall.”
Barrière’s Enghien les Bains, located north of Paris, remains the top-grossing French casino with €98.5 million in GGR, down 39 percent, per CDC Gaming Reports.
Two other Barrière casinos, Blotzheim and Toulouse, ranked second and third, and saw declines of 17 percent and 27.1 percent respectively. In fourth place, the Tranchant-owned Amnéville casino fell 22.23 percent. Of the Top 20-ranking casinos, 10 are operated by Barrière group, seven by Partouche and one by Tranchant. The final two are independently owned.
The bottom 20 are primarily independents owned by small groups such as Arevian, Hirigoyen, SFC, Carré and Vikings Casinos.
Slots accounted for 83.9 percent of revenues. Electronic table games such as English roulette and blackjack comprised 9.9 percent of the total.
