Will it soon be possible to play casino legally on the internet? In any case, this is the will of the government which tabled an amendment on Saturday October 19 providing for authorizing this practice within the framework of the 2025 draft budget. Officially, the executive justifies itself by pointing to a delay in France, where the The only online gambling allowed has been horse racing, sports betting and poker since 2010.
According to the explanatory memorandum of the text published on the Assembly website, the government thus mentions “bringing the gaming framework into line with our main European neighbors, France being, with Cyprus, the only country in the European Union to ban online casino games”. The text also mentions the development “of a significant illegal supply in recent years”. Citing a study by the National Gaming Authority (ANJ), he also emphasizes that “the gross gaming revenue generated by the illegal offer of online gambling in France would be between 748 million and 1.5 billion euros, or between 5% and 11% of the overall gambling market “.
The legalization of online casinos could represent a windfall for the State, while Prime Minister Michel Barnier seeks to fill the deficit, which is larger than expected. The government plans to tax online casinos at 55.6% of gross gaming revenue, i.e. at the same level as the general category of online lottery games. “It’s in the general interest.”reacted Tuesday to franceinfo Nicolas Béraud, the president of the French Online Games Association, worrying about the “billions” who are leaving “to illegal sites abroad”. “Everyone is a winner, the State, the players and the online gambling industry which is struggling to develop“, he added.
A majority of French people seem to share his opinion. According to a study by Consumer Science & Analytics and the French Online Gaming Association published Tuesday, 62% are in favor of legal regulation of online casino games. Nearly one in three French people (28%) say they have already played at an online casino.
The idea, however, is criticized by physical establishments, who plead for this market to be reserved for them. The president of the French casino union and general director of the Barrière group, Grégory Rabuel, expressed concern to franceinfo on Tuesday to see the sector losing a third of its turnover. “The casino sector gives 1.5 billion euros today, well, we will give 450 million euros less. That is a first tax consequence”he assured, before warning about “a social consequence”with “15,000 jobs lost”.
These fears are rejected by the online gaming sector. “This market already exists abroad, the experience is different from a physical casino, and if we step back and look at what has happened in other countries (like in Portugal) we 'sees that land-based casinos have not been impacted'says Nicolas Béraud.
Other voices are concerned about the impact of such a measure on players. The Addictions France association denounced Tuesday in a press release published on their X account the “considerable risks” of such a decision. “Online casino games present a risk of addiction twice as high as physical casinos”recalls the organization which instead pleads for “strengthen the means” of the ANJ. The latter also launched a campaign at the beginning of October to remind people of the danger of illegal casino sites, in terms of data theft, scams, but also addiction. “We really have a potential drug,” Michel Lejoyeux, professor of psychiatry and addictology at Paris Cité University, said on Tuesday on franceinfo.
The ANJ was then skeptical about a revision of the 2010 law. “Belgium is a particularly open market, but among the ten most popular operators, four are illegal and represent almost 60% of traffic, so [la légalisation] has not proven itself”Gaëlle Palermo-Chevillard, coordinator of the department for combating illegal supply within the organization, told franceinfo.
To respond to concerns, the government emphasizes in its amendment that it wants “ensure real regulation of online casino games” and establish a “specific regulation that it is proposed to define, in connection with [l’ANJ] and all the stakeholders concerned, by way of order”. “It's not something we look at lightly.”said Tuesday on TF1 the Minister of the Economy, Antoine Armand.
