French gambling players have stressed the need for regulated iCasino platforms and a review of current tax levels to curb the growth of the illegal market.
The comments were made during Gaming in France at ICE Barcelona last week, where everything related to iCasinos in France was discussed.
The briefing was attended by Diane Mullenex, partner at law firm Pinsent Masons; Nicolas Béraud, CEO of Betclic and President of L’Association Française des Jeux en Ligne (AFJEL); Clément Martin Saint-Léon, Managing Director of Gaming at Groupe Barrière and Secretary General of Casinos de France (CdF); and Willem van Oort, founder of Gaming in Europe.
The Gaming in France Briefing began with Mullenex mentioning that while the “landscape of regulation in France is very challenging”, she believes “the market should and will open” in the future.
Mullenex added what could open up the regulatory discussion in France regarding iCasino is finding “a balance between needing more money and curbing an illegal market”.
Béraud noted that a regulated online casino market could be beneficial for France, as it could be an effective measure to reduce the size of the illegal market.
The CEO of Betclic stressed that gross revenue taxes and VAT, which reach more than 60%, affect operators and they cannot balance the situation with online casino revenues, resulting in the illegal market benefiting. He added that a regulated online casino market would also help small operators to develop in France.
Béraud said: “When the legal offer is attractive, in many countries we have seen that it is effective to reduce the illegal market.”
“The problem is that most [online] operators cannot be profitable in France (with the current tax levels). If we would add casino games it could balance the revenue”.
However, while stating that the CdF is not against regulating online casinos, Martin Saint-Leon highlighted the impact of such legalization on the land-based casino industry in France.
The CdF secretary general said that opening up the online casino market in France would result in a “loss of 15%-25% of GGR” for land-based operations. He also called for a major reform and simplification of the tax system.
“We are not saying we don’t have to open the market. We are not against progress, but you need to consider the finances, taxation and employment of land-based casinos,” noted Martin Saint-Léon.
Discussions regarding iCasino in France are currently on hold since the working committees evaluating the legislation are suspended.
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