New French Online Casino Laws & Restrictions

France’s National Assembly just recently passed the country’s proposed regulations governing online casinos but gaming experts say that the European Commission’s complaints have not been addressed by the amended rules. The EC returned the legislation to France in June with a list of necessary changes needed to bring the law into compliance with the EU.



Several measures within the legislation are against the EU’s rules including the provisions that require online casino operators to have a physical and financial presence in France. The current legislation blocks access to the French market by foreign operators and their is an added provision that denies
a gaming license to any operator located within a tax haven.



“We do not need companies that place making profit over social and public order concerns and leave it to national governments across Europe to deal with the social costs,” said the president of European Lotteries, Friedrich Stickler. The lotteries applaud the new legislation because they want to keep competition at a minimum.



The new rules directly affect some of the top EU-licensed operators. Those that are operating in Gibraltar, a european nation and a known tax haven, will not be able to acquire a french gaming license under these laws.