Betfair, France and Ongame

How significant is the Betfar deal for the Ongame Network?

We know that Betfair has a solid user base and it's a controlled migration where the players are leaving a proprietary solution so we expect a high success rate there. It comes at a very good time, because of the break-up of the French liquidity which we have suffered from a little. From a liquidity stand-point it is a welcome contribution right now.

Do you think Betfair will benefit from the change to a network?

With the P5 network powering their poker it will have a positive effect on their poker numbers. However, you have to take into account the UK is a very competitive and mature market so it isn't easy to open a poker site and harvest revenue. It's tough work.

How do you view the growth in the poker market at the moment?

When we launched in Italy we had low expectations and we were blown off the charts with the growth we had. What we are seeing after only operating two weeks in France is the same pattern. We have much more French revenues now than we had in the dot com world. We really welcome regulation. The challenge though is in the dot com market to have enough liquidity when we have a number of regional networks.

How happy are you with the tax rates in France so far?

I'm not so happy that ARJEL didn't understand the no flop no drop rule in the poker world. Everybody is going through a period where things are being tested and there will be a harmonisation in the next few months.

Do you think poker operators will absorb the 2% tax?

I have a feeling it will be passed onto the players.

Do you think there is a chance ARJEL will change their mind?

I think there are bigger issues to be dealt with first.

How big do you think the French market can go?

I think it can be bigger than Italy, but it's too early to tell. We need more than a few weeks to judge, but it's a good start.

Have you seen more new sign-ups or has it been an increase in activity from existing players?

It's a mix of increasing activity from existing customers, but there are also a lot of new players. It's hard for me to tell though if they are previous customers from other operators.