Online casinos in France: government puts back regulation plan amid criticism

The government says more consultation is needed after land-based casino operators said the plan would spell the end for their sector.

France.- The government has decided to delay its plan to regulate online casinos in France amid fierce criticism from land-based casinos. Last week, the government submitted a proposed amendment to regulate the vertical as part of the 2025 budget.

However, budget and public accounts minister Laurent Saint-Martin announced yesterday (Sunday) that the amendment had been withdrawn. He said more consultations were needed after the land-based casino sector warned of closures and job losses.

The minister told Radio J: “I am being very vigilant about this issue. We must make no mistakes. We must ensure that it doesn’t harm certain stakeholders, especially land-based casinos.”

Grégory Rabuel, president of the land-based casino body Casinos de France and CEO of Barrière, welcomed the move. He said in a statement: “We are relieved that the government has heard our concerns. We remain vigilant to ensure that the commitment made by the Budget Minister is upheld: any future legislative or regulatory changes should take place within a framework of consultation and constructive dialogue.”

France is one of the only countries in Western Europe and the only country in the EU other than Cyrpus where online casino remains illegal. That’s despite the regulation of online sports betting and poker. The national regulator, the ANJ, recently announced a campaign against unlicensed operators, seeking to clarify to the public that the sector is illegal. However, a new amendment to be debated with the 2025 budget proposal could allow a competitive regulated online casino market as soon as mid-2025.

The government noted that the lack of a regulated online casino segment in France had resulted in a strong illegal offer that’s estimated to rake in between €748m and €1.5bn. The government also needs to boost tax revenue to reduce the country’s debt and the public deficit, which stands at 5.5 per cent of GDP.

While the government also aims to increase tax on the gambling sector in general, it thinks the regulation of online casino could bring in €1bn. According to the wording of the withdrawn amendment, online casino operators would have paid 27 per cent on gross gaming revenues. The total tax rate on the vertical would have been 55.6 per cent.

However, Casinos de France claims that a competitive market would cause the government to lose approximately €450m in tax revenue from land-based casinos. It’s called for land-based casino operators to be given three years of exclusivity over the online casino market.