Legal casino gambling age in FranceGambling Industry Overview in France
The following approaches will be presented:
- Gambling legislation in France
- Gambling authorities in France
- Online casinos in France
- and more
Gambling is popular in France and has a long history in the country, with some of the oldest and grandest gaming establishments located on its European soil. There are more than 200 venues throughout the country, and some bingo halls as well.
The country has also contributed to the development of many popular casino games. The Ministry of the Economy and Finance, particularly the Budget Minister, oversees taxation and financial regulation, while ANJ (Autorité Nationale des Jeux) is responsible for regulating gaming, casino gambling, horse race betting, sports betting, and lotteries.
Overview
The history of gaming in the country dates back to the 16th century, when the French added the Queen to the deck of cards, yet this version could be nothing more than a mere speculation. France is also known as the home of roulette, which originated in the 17th century, and pari-mutuel betting, which was established in the 18th century, but went live in France in the 19th century.
Gambling has long been and remains legal in France in most of its forms. The gaming activities in the country, however, are regulated by the competent authorities.
The country lowered the legal age for gambling from 21 to 18 in 1987. A year later, France legalized slot machines and became one of the most gaming-friendly countries in Europe as a whole.
Gambling legalization in the country basically means that brick-and-mortar operators are allowed to offer casino and card games, as well as racing and sports betting.
Online operators, on the other hand, are permitted to provide the same offerings as the land-based ones except for traditional casino games such as roulette, blackjack, and slots.
No matter the excessive regulation on the matter, the contemporary gaming legislation in France features high taxes, which are considered one of the obstacles licensed gaming websites face in this market.
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Almost 50% of the online gambling operators that used to have licenses to operate in the market have already left. As hinted, this is due to a high level of taxation on operators on stakes and revenues.
Players are also considered to be affected by the high poker pots and sports bets taxes. This, on the other hand, resulted in a great number of players preferring to stick to unlicensed foreign operators.
Still, the French Government has not yet cut the options for local players. Currently, there are no laws that proclaim playing at an unlicensed website a crime.
This basically means that French players can choose from a great variety of both licensed and unlicensed websites, but may face legal ambiguity when engaging with unlicensed foreign sites. The authorities focus more on operators than individual players.
However, this situation remains complex due to France’s evolving approach to online gambling.
Relevant Legislation in France
Many forms of gambling are permitted in France, which makes the country gambling-friendly. There are currently three main bodies that are responsible for carrying out regulatory functions: Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), l’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), and Pari Mutuel Urbain.
Francaise des Jeux is responsible for regulating lotteries and sports betting. while Pari Mutuel Urbain is primarily focused on horse racing.
L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) replaced l’Autorité nationale de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) to create a unified regulatory body overseeing all gambling in France – online betting, casinos, horse racing, and lotteries. Its mission is to balance player protection with the fair operation of France’s gambling market.
The ANJ supervises operators such as La Française des Jeux (FDJ) and PMU, ensuring integrity, preventing excessive gambling, protecting minors, and fighting fraud, money laundering, and terrorism financing. It issues licenses, approves game programs, and can withdraw authorisations or advertising that encourage excessive play.
Currently, licenses are required from gaming and gambling operators that are willing to run their activities on the territory of the country. That is the reason why licenses can be granted for online gambling offerings, sports betting, and horse racing activities.
The applicants are required to comply with the country’s current legislation, which includes providing some information related to their identification, shareholding details, experience, and other matters.
Licenses are granted by the relevant and competent regulatory authorities for a period of five years. There is also an option for extending licenses for the same period of half a decade after their expiration.
A new legislative bill related to online gambling operations was introduced by the French Government in 2009. Then, a year later, it officially legalized a total of three forms of online gambling activities, poker, sports betting, including fixed odds betting, pool betting, and live betting, and horse race betting.
Online Gambling
When it comes to online gambling, this segment of the market is also legal on the territory of France. The country started embracing online gaming operations back in 2005. Since then, great alterations of national laws concerning the regulation and taxation of offshore online casinos, interactive poker, and sportsbook websites have happened in France.
Despite the initial interest of the country, the European Commission thoroughly analyzed the market and announced that it was noncompliant with the regulations of the European Union. That is the reason why the Commission required the country to amend its gambling laws.
At first, only a couple of locally-based companies were granted permission to launch online gambling websites. However, to date, there is a large number of foreign gambling groups and companies that are licensed by the country.
It was not until 2009 that the government first introduced a special bill that was supposed to legally open the country’s gambling market to other member countries of the European Union and make it more competitive.
The most significant changes in France’s gaming and gambling legislation came in 2010 after the country was put under a lot of pressure by the European Union. The latter required it to put a stop to the restrictive provisions in its gaming laws, so the Gambling Act No. 2010-476 was passed by the Government. The new French Gambling Act resulted in establishing the French Regulatory Authority for Online Games (ARJEL), later replaced by another regulatory authority named ANJ, as well as making online poker and bingo legal.
The Gambling Act is considered an important step in the development of the country’s gambling legislation because it ended the kind of Government monopoly that had previously existed over the segment. It opened the French gaming market to competition from other countries in the European Union.
The latest changes in France’s gambling laws became the catalyst for a lot of criticism faced by the country’s legislation on the matter. The alterations are related to some limitations, which are considered too harsh and ungrounded. Traditional casino games are now kept out of the online offerings of gambling activities in France. The only gaming options given to players are sports betting, poker, and horse race wagering.
Still, no matter the latest restrictions, the online gambling market in France is considered not only viable but also relatively promising after showing modest signs of growth.
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