France aims to legalize online casinos

PARIS, France - France wants to legalize online casinos next year, bringing its rules in line with most EU countries, according to an amendmendment filed by the government.

Arguing that France and Cyprus are the only European Union member states where online casinos are still illegal, Prime Minister Michel Barnier's administration at the weekend submitted an amendment to its 2025 budget plan which is under debate in parliament starting later Monday.

Bricks-and-mortar casinos have already protested against the plan, saying they risk losing big chunks of turnover, and jobs, if online casinos are allowed to compete with them.

France allows online betting, but online casino-game gambling has been banned, with previous governments arguing that the risk of addiction is too great.

Poker, which is played in casinos and allowed online, is the exception because it is deemed to rely more on a player's skill than on sheer luck.

But there is a growing illegal online casino offering in France, which the government believes generates up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.63 billion) every year, or roughly 10 percent of all the sector's income.

By legalising, and regulating, online casinos the government believes it can "limit the impact of online games on the health of consumers", it said.

It would also be able to tax them to the tune of 55.6 percent of gross revenues.

While betting sites have long wanted to add casino games to their online offering, real-world casinos say the impact on their business would be "catastrophic", costing them between 20 and 30 percent of their gross revenues.

Gregory Rabuel, head of France's casino association, told business daily Les Echos that the move would lead to "the closure of 30 percent of our establishments", with 15,000 jobs at risk.

But advocates of the government's move argue that there already is a sizeable online casino market, and its legalisation would not add significantly to competitive pressures on bricks-and-mortar casinos compared to now. — Agence France-Presse