Legal online gambling in France

Legal online gambling in France

 04-16-08

Good news for all French online gambling lovers, the rumours of legalizing the French online gambling industry are getting stronger and stronger. The expectations are that online gambling will be legalized around 2009 / 2010.

The developments of the French online gambling industry are closely watched by the European Union. Online gambling legalization in France means a new chapter for the European online gambling industry. French budget minister Eric Woerth speaks openly of a legal online gambling industry. He speaks of a ‘complete new online gambling era’

According to Woerth, France will implement a complete new developed model of online gambling and online Poker. Wourth also speaks about a French partnership with countries as Germany, Holland and Belgium.

Providers of online gambling and online poker on the French market will operate with approved licenses in the future. There still are some issues whether to legalize online slots machines or not. Slots machines are seen as highly addictive by the French government.

France always was a tough opponent of online gambling. Main reason was the fact that France was afraid of loosing the state’s gambling monopoly. This would that the profits of the gambling industry had to be shared with other parties. The European Union insisted on a open-up of the French gambling industry.

The European Union not only pushed France, 10 European Union members-states in total were asked to open-up their gambling industries for foreign and domestic companies.