Opening The French Market May Be off

Many have waited to see what the response would be from France after the their appearance in front of the European Union, their has been speculation that they would open up their monopoly on online gambling allowing other operators in.

This may not be the outcome; the French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie stated that she wanted to liberalize online gambling but maintain the level of quality they have.

The Francaise des Jeux and PMU have justified their stance on the industry using the fact they feel it needs to be regulated and licensed and they are in the position to do this in France.

Earlier this year in July European competition laws overturned a French ban on a Maltese betting company named Zeturf, and it was taken as a sign that foreign players were becoming increasingly unhappy with the situation and were beginning to make their disappointment heard.

It is now felt by many that any change even if European regulated and backed France opening up to online gambling operators outside of France will move very slowly. The online gambling inside of France today is state run and regulated keeping a their monopoly in place.