The French administration led by Prime Minister Michel Bernier has suggested permitting online casino gaming to help decrease the nation’s budget deficit.
Fewer than two months after Bernier took office, the leader of the Republicans instructed his party members and other pro-government allies in Parliament to find methods to lower France’s budget deficit from its present rate of over 6% to under 5%. In discussions about the nation's 2025 budget draft, the majorities in the 577-member National Assembly and the 348-member Senate proposed liberalizing iGaming as a potential alternative.
France stands out among the 27 European member states by still banning online slot machines and the majority of table games. Cyprus is the sole other EU member that restricts casino gambling to face-to-face play.
In 2010, France enacted a law that established a regulatory framework for online poker, online sports betting, and online parimutuel betting on horse racing. This kind of online gambling is overseen by the National Gaming Authority.
Advantages of Budgeting
Supporters of the iGaming amendment to the 2025 Finance Bill Draft, who favor the government, assert that granting licenses to online casino websites and applications would generate an immediate surge of revenue to assist in closing the country's deficit. An impressive 55.6% tax rate on total online casino revenue would enhance the initiative.
"This opening is the result of aligning the gaming framework with our main European neighbors,” a government statement on the iGaming proposal read.
Should the budget amendment be approved by Parliament and receive President Emmanuel Macron's signature, the French government would gain from iGaming by obtaining half of the suggested 55.6% tax. The leftover tax income would be allocated to social security initiatives.
France is currently a significant market for gaming, boasting 203 casinos and betting establishments, seven cardrooms in Paris, along with 235 parimutuel racetracks and off-track betting venues. The government claims that France also hosts extensive illegal gambling, a significant portion of which occurs online.
The National Gaming Authority estimates that unlawful gambling activities produced revenues ranging from €748 million to €1.5 billion (US$806 million to $1.62 billion) in the past year. The gaming regulator of the central government estimates that approximately half of that gaming activity took place online via illegal operations run by offshore companies. It is estimated that almost 80% of illicit online gaming will originate from problematic gamblers or individuals prone to irresponsible gambling.
“While one in two consumers of illegal offers is unaware of their illicit nature, playing these games is not without risk: there is no approval of the games used, making cheating possible, winnings may not be paid, minors are not protected, bets are not supervised, and the theft of personal data is frequent,” the iGaming amendment detailed.
Opposition to Gaming Expansion
France’s Addiction Federation swiftly rejected the iGaming proposal.
"While the number of problem gamblers is already increasing, this reform of considerable magnitude cannot be adopted hastily, without consultation with addiction stakeholders and a debate on its health consequences. Legalizing online casinos, by a simple amendment, is not an acceptable process in view of the issues at stake,” said Catherine Delorme, president of the Addiction Federation.
Delorme stated that iGaming integrates various risk elements for addiction, such as a player's capacity to place multiple bets rapidly and to conduct this in secrecy.
France’s physical casinos and gaming establishments also opposed the online gambling initiative. The regulated sector expressed concerns that iGaming could cause a “20-30% decline” in gross gaming revenue, leading to several casino closures that would eliminate thousands of jobs.
“There will be catastrophic consequences,” concluded Gregory Rabuel, president of France’s largest casino union.