French Regulations Challenged

11/03/2008		French Regulations Challenged
Home History Games News Dictionary		Some casino operators in France have finally decided to act. The development and opening of online versions of their failing casinos, however, resulted in penalties, as a solution has yet to be found for the French connection to gambling. The proprietors of French online gambling sites have been gearing up for battle against the laws and regulations that have tied their hands in recent months. This week saw a government organized conference on the matter, when land-based casino operators expressed quite vocally their concerns and arguments, though little has actually changed from last year’s meeting. Their online competitors, it seems, are choosing action over talk, with one operator going so far as to opening his site to French players; his website is based out of Gibraltar. Patrick Partouche has been the ownder of the Partouche Group, a flashy casino company with land based business. The Partouche Group is also the parent company for the online casino site Poker777, based out of Cypriot. Partouche evidently expressed exasperation at the lack of change, and launched the site without permission. According to authorities, the site’s content was inappropriately geared towards the French players and therefore earned him a 12-month prison sentence suspension for the site, in addition to a €40,000 fine. One of his subsidiaries, Partouche International, was also fined with two others. His explanation for his actions included the fact that France’s new no-smoking law has done great harm to his business on land, leaving him little choice. With no income coming in from live casinos, Partouche expressed how much the competition of online gambling sites contributed to the damage, with him prevented from competing. He released the following statement: “We have the monopoly on offering casino games in the country and pay dearly for it, having a tax of 58 percent to pay. However, we are the only group here today [referring to the presence of operators such as Unibet at the conference] that is unable to offer online casino games.” Once his site was shut down, Partouche’s attack turned on the unfairness of not shutting down any internet casino that allowed French players. Georges Tranchant agrees. Another land-based casino owner, he claims players have requested an online version of his casino, so that they’d be able to both enjoy game play and a cigarette in the comfort of their home. Luc Leborgne is yet another who adds his voice to the foray: “In this hall there are a load of people who are conducting an illegal activity and the police are doing nothing to stop them.” The question then becomes, how many voices will need to be heard before any changes are made?

11/03/2008

French Regulations Challenged

Some casino operators in France have finally decided to act. The development and opening of online versions of their failing casinos, however, resulted in penalties, as a solution has yet to be found for the French connection to gambling.

The proprietors of French online gambling sites have been gearing up for battle against the laws and regulations that have tied their hands in recent months. This week saw a government organized conference on the matter, when land-based casino operators expressed quite vocally their concerns and arguments, though little has actually changed from last year’s meeting. Their online competitors, it seems, are choosing action over talk, with one operator going so far as to opening his site to French players; his website is based out of Gibraltar.

Patrick Partouche has been the ownder of the Partouche Group, a flashy casino company with land based business. The Partouche Group is also the parent company for the online casino site Poker777, based out of Cypriot. Partouche evidently expressed exasperation at the lack of change, and launched the site without permission. According to authorities, the site’s content was inappropriately geared towards the French players and therefore earned him a 12-month prison sentence suspension for the site, in addition to a €40,000 fine. One of his subsidiaries, Partouche International, was also fined with two others.

His explanation for his actions included the fact that France’s new no-smoking law has done great harm to his business on land, leaving him little choice. With no income coming in from live casinos, Partouche expressed how much the competition of online gambling sites contributed to the damage, with him prevented from competing. He released the following statement: “We have the monopoly on offering casino games in the country and pay dearly for it, having a tax of 58 percent to pay. However, we are the only group here today [referring to the presence of operators such as Unibet at the conference] that is unable to offer online casino games.”

Once his site was shut down, Partouche’s attack turned on the unfairness of not shutting down any internet casino that allowed French players. Georges Tranchant agrees. Another land-based casino owner, he claims players have requested an online version of his casino, so that they’d be able to both enjoy game play and a cigarette in the comfort of their home. Luc Leborgne is yet another who adds his voice to the foray: “In this hall there are a load of people who are conducting an illegal activity and the police are doing nothing to stop them.”

The question then becomes, how many voices will need to be heard before any changes are made?