Recently, France proposed an amendment to legalize online casino gaming. On October 21, this measure was discussed in the French National Assembly as part of the 2025 budget draft. If this bill passes, it would not only mean the legalization of "online casinos" in France but also allow the French to engage in virtual casino games.
One might wonder why the French government, which has always emphasized cybersecurity, would suddenly loosen restrictions on "online casinos"?
The text of the amendment submitted by the government states:
"This opening is to align our gaming framework with our main European neighbors. France and Cyprus are the only EU countries that prohibit online casino gaming."
Although the official explanation is to keep up with neighboring countries, the underlying reason is clear to everyone: to make money!
Rescuing the financial crisis
France will allow the legalization of online casinos
In 2023, France's public deficit reached 5.5% of GDP, significantly exceeding expectations and violating the EU's target of 3%. At the end of last month, Laurent Saint-Martin, the newly appointed Minister of Budget and Public Accounts, revealed that this year's figure might exceed 6%.
As 2024 is coming to an end, how can France quickly rescue its precarious financial crisis? At this time, the government targeted the lucrative gambling industry.
In 2023, a study conducted by the French Gambling Regulatory Authority (ANJ) for the first quarter found that the total revenue of illegal gambling websites ranged between 748 million euros and 1.5 billion euros, accounting for 5% to 11% of the entire gambling market. Such a lucrative industry is naturally not to be missed by the government!
According to French media, the government explicitly stated:
"Lifting the ban on online casino games will help combat illegal sites, while also bringing in much-needed tax revenue. If the proposal passes, the turnover of online casino games will be taxed at 55.6%."
Legalizing illegal gambling sites is a challenging but necessary task. In fact, compared to European neighbors, France is particularly strict in regulating online gambling. Apart from Cyprus, France is the only EU country that completely prohibits online casino games, including the games mentioned at the beginning of the article such as blackjack, roulette, and slot machines.
Seeing this, one might wonder: Can't the French find fun online?
In fact, in addition to the aforementioned casino games, France allows online sports betting, horse racing, and poker gambling games.
Additionally, online lotteries are also legal in France, with only one state-owned lottery operator in the country—La Francaise des Jeux (FDJ).
A money-making move triggers a "major earthquake" in the industry
Over 15,000 people to lose their jobs?
Beyond alleviating the financial crisis, France's plan to legalize online casinos also aims to "limit the impact of online games on public health" and "control the growing supply of games."
The amendment states:
This authorization (legalization) must be accompanied by specific regulations, proposed to be enacted by decree in collaboration with the National Gambling Authority and all relevant stakeholders.
In fact, online gambling operators have been requesting the legalization of online casinos in France for many years. On the other hand, physical casinos have been strongly opposed and have asked the government to preserve this niche market for them.
On the 21st, Grégory Rabue, chairman of the French Casino Union, responded to the government's "money-making move."
"According to our calculations, opening online casinos and initiating competition will lead to a decline in the total revenue of physical casinos by about 20% to 30%, and result in the closure of 30% of offline casinos. This will bring catastrophic consequences, especially social consequences: an estimated 15,000 jobs will be lost. More bluntly, this is akin to issuing a death sentence for physical casinos."
This year, with the start of the European Championship, the French online gambling industry also welcomed a new round of "ranking battles"—illegal online casinos have surpassed the legal market for the first time since their establishment in 2010. As of 2023, the number of players at illegal online casinos has exceeded the 4 million mark, while the number of players in the legal market is 3.6 million.
"These illegal online casinos offer very attractive odds, which is one of the main reasons they attract players," said Nicolas Beraud, head of the French Online Gambling Association (AFJEL).
Regrettably, the illegal market is "eroding" the online sports betting industry—drawing players from legal casinos to the illegal market, thus achieving strong expansion.
With the already aggressive "predatory" trend, coupled with the government's "legalization" support, how long can the French physical gambling industry last?
A spokesperson for the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) told the media:
This is a complex issue, as the odds offered by online casinos are very attractive, especially those by illegal online casinos! We can only pray that the number of French physical casinos affected by the new policy does not exceed 200.
