Legalising online casinos? France places a bet on solving budget woes

France has put forward an amendment to legalise online casino games, a move that could boost struggling state finances.

The government suggested the measure as part of the draft budget for 2025, submitted at the weekend. The text was examined by the National Assembly on Monday.

If passed, virtual casino games would be taxed at 55.6% of their turnover.

A study from France’s gaming watchdog (ANJ), conducted in the first three months of 2023, found gross revenue from illegal gambling sites was between €748m and €1.5bn.

Current rules in France

Compared with its European neighbours, France has particularly strict regulations surrounding online gambling.

Alongside Cyprus, it is the only country in the EU to completely outlaw online casino games. These include blackjack, roulette, and slot machine gambling.

French authorities nonetheless allow sports betting, horse racing, and poker on the web.

The online lottery is also legal in France, although there is only one operator – La Française des Jeux (FDJ).

Tackling illegal gambling

The government argues that legalising online casinos will help to tackle the presence of illegal sites – which often operate from tax havens.

This could help to limit the public health risk posed to gambling addicts.

On the other hand, those working with physical casinos are concerned about the effect this could have on the industry. 

“According to our calculations, opening up online casinos to competition will lead to a drop in the gross gaming revenue of land-based casinos of around 20 to 30%, and the closure of 30% of establishments,” said Grégory Rabuel, president of the Casinos de France union, speaking to French media Les Echos.

Posting on Twitter, Rabuel added: “If the online casino market were to open up one day in France, it would have to be done exclusively with the help of physical casinos. It is a question of responsibility, security and the defence of local areas.”

Elsa Trochet-Macé, a spokesperson for the ANJ watchdog, told Euronews: “This is a complex question insofar as the online casino offer is particularly addictive. Nor is it certain that the opening of this new offer will automatically dry up the illegal offer.

She added: “Finally, we must be careful not to weaken our network of more than 200 land-based casinos.”

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France’s heavy deficit

France’s public deficit hit 5.5% of the country’s GDP last year, massively exceeding forecasts and violating the EU’s target of 3%.

At the end of last month, new budget minister Laurent Saint-Martin revealed that this year’s figure could overshoot 6%.

“I hope and I propose that together we make the choice of turning things around,” Saint-Martin told the National Assembly in September.

While the government hopes to limit its spending, it is also looking for ways to boost revenue.

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Part of the country’s current financial problems have been linked to reduced tax income.

This is partially because economic growth has recently been driven by exports rather than domestic consumption, generating lower VAT receipts.