French Operators Fight Against Online Casino Monopoly
20 December 2007
The French online casino sector has lodged a complaint against the French state and the Française des Jeux with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition, on the grounds of abuse of a monopoly.
Under French law, only the local monopoly, Française des Jeux is authorised to provide online casino services in France, according to its own rules and with the approval of the French state, which holds a 72% share in the company.
The French monopoly has been putting up fierce competition against the French online casino sector as they expand their online casino services to provide online casino games such as blackjack and roulette. However, this is in violation of the European Court of Justice’s requirement that European Union member states comply with the “consistent gaming policy” set out in the Gambelli ruling.
The French casino sector has been trying to lobby the French Authorities for more than five years to receive the right to provide online casino services, as counterparts in other European nations are allowed to do. The Lobby has met so far with failure, leading the The Syndicat des Casinos Modernes, one of the main bodies representing the French casino sector to lodge the complaint.
Gambling legislation in France is largely outdated, parts of it having been written at the start of the last century, and is clearly unsuited to the growing world of the online casino industry. Several serious studies show that growth in the French casino industry has been slowing compared to that of the rest of the online casino industry and the Française des Jeux.
According to French regulations, casino games belong to totally different markets than gambling on games such as lotteries and betting, which are exclusively offered by the state-controlled Française des Jeux. Lottery games are available throughout the territories of France, while casino games are permitted only in certain geographical regions.
This geographical criterion no longer applies when the internet and the online casino industry are taken into account. Especially since all kinds of games are now provided on the same sites.
Online casino operators are leaning more and more towards a one-stop gambling experience, offering online casino games, sports betting, bingo, and much more. The European Lotteries Association, the representing body for all of Europe’s national lotteries, has confirmed this, as well as a comprehensive study by the Deutsch Bank into the online casino industry.
The The Syndicat des Casinos Modernes is complaining that the French government allows the Française des Jeux to conduct online casino games when its legal jurisdiction applies to lotteries, while casino games are the providence of casino operators, who are not permitted to operate online casino websites.
Other factors come into consideration. Payment at online casino sites as well as registration, game rules, visual presentation and element of chance all concur to show that online casino games and lotteries are interchangeable in the eyes of the consumer.
The French authorities are called to acknowledge that casino operators are now facing a situation that distorts competition and damages the growth of the French internal market.
Tags: casino game, casino industry, casino services, lottery games, online casino games