France to open up the betting market
3rd October, 2007
There have been discussions in France, about the opening of France’s online betting market. The French government has been threatened with legal action by the European Court of justice in recent months and has conceded that it must open its gambling market, although any liberalisation would be limited to online sports betting. The French warned that any deregulation would come with conditions and would be carried out in a controlled manner.
Petter Nylander, chief executive of Unibet, welcomed the developments but said the realistic approach to regulation would come through a robust system that was in line with current regimes, such as those in the UK or Malta “We are listening and the fact that there is a dialogue is encouraging but customer demand and technology will always circumvent any of those restrictions,” he said “It’s a step in the right direction but it’s not good enough” Other industry sources have dismissed the moves by the French as diversionary tactics.
French casinos are also getting impatient and have been lobbying government figures for permission to open up their own online sites to target French players. Negotiations between the casino groups and the government are expected to last until the end of October.
