Online Casino Transfer: News - French Liberalization Approved

04/25/2010		Online Casino Style: News French Liberalization Approved - 2
Home History Games News Dictionary		continued from French Liberalization Approved - 1 The next step for the bill in process are the decrees, and once they have been agreed upon and completed, the entire package will be sent off to the Minister for his final ratification. It is the current expectation that the decrees will be completed by next month. They are ahead of the game, as most had already been completed earlier this year, and were sent to the European Commission for their opinion. The Commission’s reply is expected by the end of April. The positive force surrounding the movement has online gambling operators already applying for licenses, as the regulator in France, ARJEL, has posted since Tuesday the requirements for a license on their website. For months, online gambling companies have been lining up for the pending liberalization, setting the stage for what will undoubtedly be plenty of competition for the licenses available. According to the news source, the Associated Press, the year 2008 saw the internet gambling market in France generate almost €800 million, despite the limited selection of platforms, all monopolies under state direction. That same market is now attracting a slew of foreign operators looking for their piece of the pie. The new liberalization law mandates that offshore internet casinos must partners up with a corporate partner within the nation in order to qualify for a license. Those partners are being found in a variety of industries, as sports clubs, online organizers, and even advertisers are taking advantage of the rule to get their share of the inevitable profits. All are working towards the same goal, competing with the established monopolies of PMU and Francaise des Jeux. And yet, there are still those that are saying it’s not enough. Clive Hawkswood, for one, the chief executive officer of the Remote Gambling Association, said that the draft law is improvement but still does not bring the country of France into compliance with the laws of trade laid out by the European Union. He has been rather garrulous on the matter, listing the faults of the bill without restraint: "Whether it is the hundred plus pages of technical rules, the false limitation on payouts to players, the ineffective blocking mechanisms or the introduction of an unsubstantiated sports right, this system is, unfortunately, seriously flawed and will make it difficult for any private sector company to be successful, especially in the area of sports betting." It is the RGA’s hope that when the law makes it to the French Commissioner’s desk, that he will see through the garble, and the power that the law gives to the state to make application and licensing no less than an impossible nightmare for foreign online casinos, and have it revised into EU compliance.

04/25/2010

Online Casino Style: News
French Liberalization Approved - 2

continued from French Liberalization Approved - 1

The next step for the bill in process are the decrees, and once they have been agreed upon and completed, the entire package will be sent off to the Minister for his final ratification. It is the current expectation that the decrees will be completed by next month. They are ahead of the game, as most had already been completed earlier this year, and were sent to the European Commission for their opinion. The Commission’s reply is expected by the end of April. The positive force surrounding the movement has online gambling operators already applying for licenses, as the regulator in France, ARJEL, has posted since Tuesday the requirements for a license on their website.

For months, online gambling companies have been lining up for the pending liberalization, setting the stage for what will undoubtedly be plenty of competition for the licenses available. According to the news source, the Associated Press, the year 2008 saw the internet gambling market in France generate almost €800 million, despite the limited selection of platforms, all monopolies under state direction. That same market is now attracting a slew of foreign operators looking for their piece of the pie.

The new liberalization law mandates that offshore internet casinos must partners up with a corporate partner within the nation in order to qualify for a license. Those partners are being found in a variety of industries, as sports clubs, online organizers, and even advertisers are taking advantage of the rule to get their share of the inevitable profits. All are working towards the same goal, competing with the established monopolies of PMU and Francaise des Jeux.

And yet, there are still those that are saying it’s not enough. Clive Hawkswood, for one, the chief executive officer of the Remote Gambling Association, said that the draft law is improvement but still does not bring the country of France into compliance with the laws of trade laid out by the European Union. He has been rather garrulous on the matter, listing the faults of the bill without restraint: "Whether it is the hundred plus pages of technical rules, the false limitation on payouts to players, the ineffective blocking mechanisms or the introduction of an unsubstantiated sports right, this system is, unfortunately, seriously flawed and will make it difficult for any private sector company to be successful, especially in the area of sports betting."

It is the RGA’s hope that when the law makes it to the French Commissioner’s desk, that he will see through the garble, and the power that the law gives to the state to make application and licensing no less than an impossible nightmare for foreign online casinos, and have it revised into EU compliance.