French casinos continue opposition to calls for igaming legalisation
Casinos de France argues that regulated online casino gaming would lead to “massive” job losses.
France.- As the government considers returning to its shelved plans to legalise online casino gambling in France, the country’s land-based sector remains firm in its opposition. Casinos de France, the main trade body for land-based casinos in France, has urged the government not to legalise igaming.
The body claims that regulating online casinos in France could lead to a €546m loss to the public purse due to the impact that the move could have on the activity of land-based venues. That estimate includes indirect costs related to health spending and employment.
Casinos de France also rejected an argument made by the online gambling lobby group AFJEL, which had suggested that France could be losing €1.2bn a year through the use of unlicensed online casinos. It said that licensing igaming would cause dozens of land-based casinos to close, leading to massive job losses and a loss of resources for small towns.
Grégory Rabuel, president of Casinos de France and CEO of Barrière Group, said: “The €1.2 billion lost revenue put forward by AFJEL does not exist. It’s a hoax, and worse, it’s a loss for the state. Destruction of local jobs, reduction of municipal budgets, the destruction of cultural life in towns and villages.
“That’s before even mentioning the impact on French mental health, which would lead to hundreds of millions in additional costs for social security.”
France liberalised its gambling sector 15 years ago, introducing regulated online sports betting and poker, but online casino gaming remains unregulated. The government began consulting on plans to introduce a regulatory framework, which it hoped to advance this year, but the proposal was shelved due to opposition from land-based casinos and from the mayors in the municipalities where they’re located.
According to Casinos de France, there are 203 French casinos plus seven gaming clubs in Paris. Together, these employ over 31,000 people and contribute €1.6bn a year in taxes and social security payments while generating over €600m a year for local authorities, the group says.
It also pointed to the impact of regulated igaming in other countries in Europe, noting that Svenska Spel has closed all of its Casino Cosmopol venues in Sweden due to the shift from physical to online play. It warns that despite the regulation of online casinos, close to 40 per cent of Swedish wagers go to unlicensed platforms.
Land-based casinos are safer, Casinos de France argues
The group also claimed that land-based casinos provide a safer gambling environment due to their “social, humane and profoundly responsible” model in which “every player is screened before even entering, minors are systematically excluded and risky behaviours are identified and addressed by trained staff.”
It noted that venues provide addiction prevention and responsible gaming programmes while also serving as community spaces for social connection, where gambling a controlled, monitored activity, integrated into the local economy.
During a consultation on online casinos in France last year, Casinos de France had argued that if the country legalised online casinos, land-based venues should be given a period of exclusivity on the market. However, that proposal was rejected by digital rivals.
It concluded: “Everywhere, the promise of new revenue has turned into a net loss for local communities: decreased economic activity, job losses, a surge in risky behaviour and the persistence of a thriving black market. The process is relentless. When digital takes hold, it captures existing customers without creating new players. The market does not expand, it shifts, and illegal activity latches on.”
