AFJEL publishes White Paper on French market

The French online gaming trade association l’Association Française du Jeu en Ligne (AFJEL), has published a White Paper recommending changes to French online gaming law.
The association has released the paper with a view to fast tracking new reforms and ensuring a fairer, more competitive French market for players and operators.  The Act of May 12, 2010 provides for a “revoyure clause” in November 2011 for possible improvements.
AFJEL is headed up by Nicolas Beraud – President of BetclicEverest and comprises six members who are operators currently licensed with ARJEL – the French gaming regulatory body.
“Today, none of the ten leading operators of online games in France can be profitable,” said Nicolas Beraud.
Key areas covered in the white paper include:
–  Greater diversity in the supply of horse race betting by allowing operators to select their own horse races.
–  Liberalising sports betting in full by removing the “current-limiting list of betting”
–  Allowing “versions of poker other than Texas Hold’em and Omaha 4 pot limit”.
–  Expanding the scope of permitted online games. The non-liberalization of this sector, which covers 800,000 players, is “Euro 200 million in lost taxes to the state and creates very serious distortions of competition”, says Beraud.
–  Relaxation of the “rate of return to players” which in foreign countries is 90-95 percent but is limited to 85.5 percent in France.
–  New tax reform with a tax on gross gaming revenue rather than on players’ bets.

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