As public finances have dwindled across Europe, many nations have opened their arms to legalized online gambling to help fill the coffers. France is among the nations opening up to online gambling in an effort to bring in more money through taxing the business that run online gambling sites and taxing the winnings of players.
Gambling in France was once dominated by state controlled monopolies. Pari Mutuel Urbain was created in 1920 and controlled all horse racing bets for decades. Other gambling in France included Loterie Nationale and Française des Jeux which enjoyed a monopoly on gambling of all kinds (except horseracing). The organizations faced high taxes but the gambling gains for winners went untaxed.
On May 24, 2010 however the French government passed a law that legalized online gambling in the country. An act which was once deemed outside the lines of decent society, online gambling is now accepted with open arms. The move appeared to be inevitable as online gambling’s popularity has exploded worldwide, with Europe becoming the epicenter for online gambling. European nations accounted for $12.5 billion of the industry’s $29.3 billion in revenue last year, a trend which continues to grow.
There are many different forms of online gambling, but poker is at the heart of many online gambling sites and appears to be the driving force in the industry. Once France had its change of heart, many of the big names in online poker began getting their paperwork in order to open up shop (so to speak) in France. Pokerstars.fr was the first site up and running, but competition has arrived from Full Tilt Poker and PKR. Both sites have recently entered the market in France and more appear to be heading in the same direction. On Game and Party Poker are expected to open up sites in the near future for French players.
In the end, things have not been gone perfectly to date as the French government is not making it easy for companies to obtain the proper licensing to operate. Companies that want to operate in France must first apply for local licensing, abide by French regulations, and pay French taxes. In addition, the winnings of players are now subject to income taxes. Some big players such as Betfair are avoiding France however because French laws call for taxes on each transaction a player makes, instead of just overall winnings.
