French Government Forces ISP TO Block Unlicensed Online Casinos

The French Court has order that ISPs must now block unlicensed online casinos or face a daily fine of €10,000 per day. This ruling could result in the ISPs being forced to block any site that doesn’t conform to French law. Unfortunately, this ruling amounts to Internet censorship.

Many offshore gambling operators have refused to meet the requirements set forth by the French government to obtain a gaming license. The heavy taxation rates for online gambling in France is one of the main reasons why many prominent operators have already abandoned the market.

It remains to be seen if gambling advertisers will be targeted next. The French government is attempting to protect operators within France that are paying a hefty tax in order to accept French players, but they are protecting them at the cost of Internet freedom for their citizens.