Paris gaming clubs look set to get permanent approval
The move will mark the end of annual extensions to the pilot scheme for gaming clubs in Paris.
France.- The French government’s 2026 budget bill includes a proposal to give Paris gaming clubs permanent legal recognition. The move would end almost a decade of uncertainty for operators under a pilot programme that was intended to allow their impact to be monitored.
Gaming clubs in Paris can offer card games including poke but not slots or other kinds of table games. They were first granted temporary authorisation for 12 months back in February 2017. The pilot was extended repeatedly since then but always with the risk that it could be the last extension. That uncertainty led some clubs to decide to close suddenly earlier this year.
The proposal to grant the clubs permanent legal status has already won the backing of the Senate and now needs only approval of the 2026 budget to end law. The rules will remain the same as under the pilot programme.
The Senate’s verdict was that the pilot programme had proven the viability of “a legal and regulated alternative to clandestine gambling dens, while guaranteeing the transparency, traceability and integrity of financial transactions.”
It added that the programme had “made gambling safer in Paris within a strictly controlled framework, contributing to the fight against money laundering and fraud.”
It also noted that clubs were generating around €120m in annual revenue, contributing €40m to the French state and €10m to the City of Paris. It said the sector supported several hundred jobs, directly and indirectly, and did not create “any distortion of competition” with traditional land-based casinos.
Casinos de France, the national trade body representing land‑based casinos, welcomed the Senate’s decision and said the move finally provides a “clear legal framework” for Parisian gaming clubs.
It said: “This long-awaited step forward finally provides a clear legal framework, giving visibility to a model that has largely proven its worth. Parisian gaming clubs have demonstrated their effectiveness. They constitute a legal, regulated and transparent alternative to former gambling clubs, applying strict standards in terms of oversight, integrity, prevention of excessive gambling and the fight against money laundering. We hope this progress will be fully confirmed in the final version of the draft budget law.”
