French government to launch consultation into online casinos following U-turn
Process, which could begin next week, to focus on five key issues after budget amendment was axed following pressure from land-based casino lobby groups
The French government will launch a consultation process into the legalisation of online casino after U-turning on a proposal to legalise the vertical as part of the country’s budget.
On Sunday, 27 October, minister for budget and public accounts Laurent Saint-Martin told French radio station Radio J that more work needs to be done before ushering the vertical into the legal sphere.
An amendment filed by the government on 19 October had proposed legalising online casino with a 55.6% tax rate came nine days after the 2025 budget was published.
And while the government U-turned on the amendment, it has now confirmed a consultation process will launch, which could come as early as next week.
The consultation will involve multiple stakeholders, including representatives from the land-based casino sector, whose concerns played a significant role in the government reneging on its original plans.
Those concerns included up to 15,000 job losses, a third of land-based casinos closing and municipal tax budgets being slashed.
More than 100 French mayors signed an open letter to Prime Minister Michel Barnier imploring him not to open “Pandora’s Box”.
The government said the consultation will focus on five issues in particular, as it looks to achieve it aim of “strengthening taxation on games of chance”.
Those issues include ensuring consumer safety, pushing back against the black market and maintaining employment and support local economies.
The government will also explore how best to manage mental health and gambling-related harm in relation to legalising online casinos, while also exploring how to support land-based casinos against the illegal sector.
One of the key pillars states: “Strengthening the fairness of the competitive field; correcting a competitive imbalance to the detriment of physical casinos, which are currently faced with competition from [operators that] escape all regulation.
Saint-Martin said: “I have heard the sector’s concerns and, starting next week, I will meet with them personally to build the best solutions regarding online casinos, an activity that is now widespread but unauthorised, unregulated and not without risks.
“This approach of co-construction and clear impact study is essential in my eyes and I am convinced that together, solutions can be integrated into the budget debate.”