It looks as is if the online gambling industry in France will be changing very soon as the country is on the verge of enacting a new legislation largely based on the successful models of the UK and other European nations. One of the most important components of this legislation is to prevent problem gambling by setting fixed limitations on wagers among other measures. In addition, gambling operators will be required to post warnings about underage wagering and the potential dangers of compulsive gambling.
The opening of the online gambling market in France will consist of sports betting, horse racing, and community games of skill such as poker. At this point, it is believed that online slots games, lotteries and common casino games such as black and roulette will be excluded from the market as the French government considers them to have a higher risk of addiction.
French Gaming Authority
ARJEL, a new independent public gaming authority, will be established specifically to regulate the online gambling market. This authority will be responsible for the following:
Making suggestions on requirements for different types of gaming licenses to the government.
Ensuring compliance for policies associated with internet accessible games.
Preparing and attributing requests for online gaming operation licenses.
Monitoring internet gaming operations and taking action against illicit gambling sites and fraudulent activity.
According to a recent report, ARJEL with be given the power to prevent access to illegal websites through a direct relationship with internet service providers, which will allow them to block financial transactions.
Operator Responsibilities
The new online gambling legislation will impose strict requirements on the operators that service French players. These requirements include:
Operators must provide information and confirmation on their identification, shareholding, and experience in the gambling industry. They are also required to take the measures necessary to secure online transactions, protect minors, and prevent fraud and money laundering.
Online gambling websites must be accessible via a first level domain ending in the “fr” TLD (top level domain).
Licensees must be located within the member states of the ECC and EU. If any headquarters of operators or shareholders are based in jurisdictions considered as non cooperative tax havens, they will be refused the licenses needed to legally offer their services in France.
Possible Time of Implementation
With the implementation of the legislation known as the Draft French Gaming Law in the works, ARJEL will likely need more time to establish an efficient architecture for regulation and license distribution. According to senior officials within the French government, France will not begin granting online gambling licenses until sometime until 2010. In all likelihood, the Draft French Gaming Law will not be officially enacted on January 1st as originally expected, partly because of the detailed opinion of the EU Commission rendered back in June. For this reason, French government officials are expecting the online gambling market to open up for the launch of the World Football Cup in June at the very latest.
