Everest Poker Pulls Out of French Market
April 22, 2016 2:05 pmBetclic Everest Group has announced that the company will withdraw its Everest Poker brand from the French market starting May 31st, and instead would be devoting its time and resources to solely promoting its Betclic Poker product in France. The latest consolidation move now has gaming analysts wondering whether Everest Poker might implement a similar move in the other countries it operates in outside of France, although no such announcement has yet been made.
Leading up to the end of May, EverestPoker.fr customers will have the option to either withdraw all their money from the site, or alternatively migrate over to BetclicPoker.fr where their funds, VIP status, and player points will all remain intact. Those players who do neither will apparently have their EverestPoker.fr balances automatically returned to them in October. Commenting on the latest development, BetClick Everest Group CEO Isabelle Andres (photo) explained:
“There was no logic to maintain two poker deals [Everest and BetClick Poker] on the French market. We keep all our ambition and are confident that our customers will benefit poker on BetClick a quality poker offering and an enriched experience with access to offers of paris sports and horse paris.”
As alluded to in the last part of her comment, the consolidation is timed to enable BetClick’s French site to take maximum advantage of the upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 which will run from June 10th to July 10th. Not that its any consolation for French poker pro Fabrice Soulier, a popular player who has been sponsored by the site for several years, but has now been cut loose. As the WSOP bracelet winner with $5,829,817 in tournament winnings commented via his Facebook page:
“End of party for Everest poker. Thank you for this beautiful adventure and off to EPT Monaco without the logo!”
In the meantime, France’s ring-fenced poker market has been declining since being regulated and last year reported a fifth consecutive contraction in revenues. It is also 90% controlled by just three operators, giving other companies few opportunities to exploit in a shrinking market. According to PokerScout, Winamax leads the way with 1,100 players (46.2% market share), followed by PokerStars.fr with 700 players (29.4%), and finally partypoker.fr with 300 players (12.6%).