Setback for French Online Gambling

0 Comments   Email   Print

By mid April the French National Assembly and the Senate had passed the bill that would legalize and regulate online gambling. Under French law The Constitutional Council of France has to rule on whether proposed statutes conform to the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the President of the Republic. This bill also had to comply with European Union (EU) Law. When the bill was passed it was widely stated that it does not satisfy many of the provisions of the EU Law. However, there was a belief that because the deadline of the Football World Cup was too close and because online gaming operators had already started putting in their applications the bill would somehow go through.

Now the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) have published the statement of the French Constitutional Council, which has to be viewed as a setback to this legalization process. The Council stated that it is not competent to assess whether the proposed laws are compliant with EU law and requirements. It is possible that the President can still go ahead and sign the bill into law because it apparently does not violate the French Constitution and that is critical. However all the shortcomings of the bill have once again begun to surface and the EGBA is at the forefront.

The requirements in the bill will compel the long established European online gambling operators entering the French market to unnecessarily duplicate controls and guarantees, but this is only the beginning of the problem. The real issue is the discriminatory restrictions that are being imposed in terms of limits on the maximum returns that bettors will be allowed. Ostensibly this is to discourage gambling but its alleged real intent is to protect the state owned gambling companies that presently are monopolies. EGBA Secretary General Sigrid Ligne said that if European gambling operators still enter the French market they will be doing so in an environment of legal and business uncertainty.

But the online gaming operators, most of who are members of the EGBA, do not seem to mind. They know that it is ultimately the French bettor who will pay for the faults of the legislators. They also know that the French bettor has no choice. If he has to choose between gambling legally by paying a higher price and gambling illegally he will choose the former.

It must be pointed out that this bill if it comes into law will legalize only online poker and online sport betting. Online casino wagering will continue to remain illegal.

News Item Tools

 Email     Print     Digg     Del.icio.us    StumbleUpon

Comments

 Add Comment

Add Comment

More News