France given until October 29 to change its gambling laws
Now that France have been ordered to modify its legislation for online gambling, over 25 million people could become available for membership of gambling websites.
The European Court of Justice has given France until October 29 to change its laws. At the moment only native providers Française des Jeux (a multi game operator) and PMU (the French tote) are permitted to advertise their services over the Internet. With an online poppulation of over 26 million (source: Comscore), France represents a considerable chunk of a potential online audience and this is a case that has been eagerly watched by industry insiders.
French officials are this week meeting in Brussels to discuss the benefits and impacts of opening the industry to foreign competition. According to a recent report on eGaming Review, French representatives are indicating a willingness to compromise with provisions including online gambling companies having to set up offices in France in order to do business.
France has been in direct confrontation with the EU since last year when it introduced new laws to remove non state-run online gambling operations from the market. This policy was in breach of article 49 of the European Treaty which allows for a free market in the service sector within the EU, allowing competition in the sector.
Preparing for possible legalisation, a number of French casinos have sought and won the approval of eCogra, the industry standards body. They can now state to have high standards of safety and security for players. This is seen as a very proactive and positive move, considering that the French authorities have threatened to levy ISPs with a massive 675,000 Euro fine for not warning their users that they were entering an illegal website.
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