The French government has been considering for some time whether or not to legalize the online gambling market in France. Finally, the decision to legalize online gambling has been made; this will enable them to compete with other major European online casinos, allowing a general increase in the country’s income.
The French lottery Francaise des Jeux and PMU, have been monopolizing the entire gambling market. In their websites, they offer online betting and scratchcards. Any other games apart from these two which involve money are considered illegal. In consequence, some major foreign online gambling operators have been arrested in France for violating its gambling laws.
France’s Prime Minister, Francois Fillon is studying the best way to open up the online gambling market. A most probable result regarding the regulations of online gambling in the French market may be to limit the betting wages in sporting events and card games.
The European Commission has sent a warning to France, saying that: “The restrictions of the sports betting market are not compatible with existing EU laws and that the measures to restrict the free movement of sports betting services have not been shown to be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory.”