the new Bercy track to recover 500 million euros each year

The battle is underway at the top of the state. The Barnier government needs 60 billion euros to complete its 2025 budget. The finance bill (PLF), which must be presented next week by the executive, provides for 20 billion euros in revenue increases. and 40 billion in spending cuts. But we still have to find them. Part of these new public funds could come from… gambling.

Bercy would consider revising the specific social contributions which weigh on lotteries, casinos, sports betting and online poker, according to information from the Echoesconfirmed by the Figaro. This overhaul, which would take the form of a simplification of the very complex system of social contributions levied on the gross gaming product (GRP), would take place in the Social Security budget which must be presented on October 10. It could bring in nearly 500 million euros per year, according to government calculations.

Social Security has a good chance of benefiting from this gain, according to THE Echoes. The social contributions that players in the sector currently pay on the PBJ are already allocated to it. Asked to make nearly 15 billion euros in savings in the next budget, Social Security administrations will not be unhappy to see social revenue from games jump by almost 40%, if the measure envisaged by the government comes to be effectively implemented. Especially since the government would also be tempted, still according to The Echoesto create a new tax on advertising spending in the sector. Revenue likely to replenish health insurance funds.

A sector already heavily taxed

The measure risks creating a small earthquake in the world of gambling, which is already widely imposed. In 2021, the Court of Auditors highlighted in a report the particularly high rate of tax levies falling on the sector in France. Not to mention that the Française des Jeux, privatized in 2019, could well fall under the “exceptional taxation of large and very large companies” sketched by Barnier. Its latest turnover is in fact well above the threshold envisaged by the government for this “surtax” of corporate tax. Last year, the FDJ recorded a turnover of 2.6 billion euros, up 6.5% compared to the previous year.

If the FDJ is doing well, it is, among other things, because there are more and more French players: 27 million people played at least once last year, with an average of five euros per week. In total, this represents 20 billion euros spent. By opting for a tougher tax on gambling, the government could kill with one stone. On the one hand, to relieve the Social Security coffers, forced to enter a lean period; on the other, fight against risky gambling practices. In the text consulted by The Echoesthe government mentions the 6% of players suffering from moderate or excessive risk of addiction.