France Casino Age
Gambling has a rather rich history in France, which is not surprising considering the country has a significant contribution to the creation of several popular casino games that are still played to this day. We should also not forget this is the birthplace of the roulette wheel, which was allegedly created by France’s popular physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal.
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France is also the place of origin of chemin de fer (the original version of what we know as baccarat today) and parimutuel betting. The 52-card packs used by gambling operators worldwide are a French invention as well.
It makes sense that gambling remains a popular form of recreation in a country with so many contributions to this industry. A survey conducted in March 2019 showed that roughly 39% of the French respondents admitted they gamble occasionally on sports, horse racing, lotteries, scratchcards, poker, and casino-banked games.
The French apparently love to bet and it shows in the figures published by the country’s regulator ARJEL. According to a report unveiled by the regulatory body, the licensed online gaming market in France saw a considerable improvement in 2017.
The regulator reported a rise of 8% in stakes compared to 2016, an increase of 2% in the number of active French players each week, and a rise of 18% in locally licensed operators’ GGR (gross gaming revenue), with sports betting being the most dynamic segment growth-wise. Now let’s take a look at the specific laws that govern the online gambling industry in France.
Laws Governing Landbased Gambling in France
1Overview
In France, wagering on games of chance was prohibited for a long time although various amendments were introduced over the years, exempting certain forms of gambling from the general ban. Such activities should be organized exclusively either in specific venues or be provided by licensed operators with official authorization from the government.
2The French Code of Homeland Security
The French Code of Homeland Security, hereby referred to as the Security Code, comprises a considerable portion of the country’s gambling oversight laws. Article L.324-1 of this piece of legislation prohibits gambling on games of chance with certain exemptions as we previously mentioned.
It states that individuals who are caught offering unauthorized gambling activities, including the provision of games of chance, face penalizations of three years in prison along with hefty fines of up to €90,000. However, if said activities are conducted by organized crime groups, the penalization is even more severe. Such individuals risk imprisonment of up to seven years along with fines of €200,000.
With that mind, landbased casinos in France can offer chance games as long as they do so under the regulations and authorization of the Security Code. The same goes for gambling activities conducted at sea on board of cruise ships or at thermal resorts.
Gambling houses offering card and chance games need to first receive authorization from the French Ministry of Home Affairs. This falls under the scope of Law 2017-257 which was signed into law at the end of February 2017.
As for lottery games, these were legalized by Article 136 of the French Finance Law which passed in 1933. Lotteries are subject to a state monopoly and can be operated expressly by the state-owned entity La Française des Jeux or FDJ.
3Sports and Race Betting Legislation
The FDJ has also been granted the authorization to organize and regulate landbased sports betting in France. French punters can legally wager on sports since the beginning of April 1985. This was made possible with the passage of Decree 85-39 which was repealed toward the end of 2019 by Decree 2019-1562.
The latter laid down new provisions in relation to the parent companies, the products offered by the DGJ, and pari-mutuel wagering. Its purpose is to outline the scope of obligations of the parent companies of the operators that offered such landbased services to French residents.
Online Gambling Legislation in France
France enforces adequate oversight on both the landbased and online gambling sectors. The country has more than 150 brick-and-mortar casinos where locals can engage in table games like poker and baccarat. Slots were decriminalized in 1988 and are also available in some gaming venues.
As for interactive gambling, it was legalized in 2010, allowing for the following forms of online wagering: sports betting, poker (but not the house-banked varieties), and horse race betting. Operators interested in legally servicing French customers must first obtain proper licenses from the local regulator ARJEL.
However, the tough regulatory framework on French soil, coupled with the high taxes, suffice to dissuade many companies from applying for a local license. As for online casino-style gaming, it remains prohibited under French law because the authorities consider it harmful due to its addictive nature. Online games whose outcome is based on chance rather than skill are illegal in France.
Law 2010-476
All gambling activities in France were subject to a state monopoly that lasted for nearly a century, dating back to 1836. The situation finally changed in 2010 thanks to a European initiative that forced the country to open its interactive gambling market to competition, putting an end to the monopoly of La Française des Jeux (FDJ, which regulated all forms of legal gambling) and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU, the regulator for horse race wagering).
This led to the introduction of Law 2010-476 (also referred to as the French Gambling Act) which passed on May 12, 2010, rendering certain forms of online gambling legal as long as the services are conducted under a valid local license. Sports betting, horse race betting, and online poker (tournaments and cash games) gained legal status in the country.
Article 15 of Law 2010-476 deals with the conditions online gambling companies must meet to gain the approval of the corresponding regulatory authorities. It states a gambling operator must provide all the necessary information about its owner’s identity, the company’s structure, the addresses of its directors, and the address where the company is registered.
Another condition stipulates that the operators who seek the approval of the French regulator must provide proof of a trust, an insurance, or an escrow account that guarantees the repayment of all money due to local online gamblers.
Under Article 16, the operators are also obliged to provide information regarding their methods of operation, the services they intend to offer, and the characteristics of their betting platforms and software. The companies must present the authorized representatives of ARJEL with access to their data center.
Player Security and Fraud Prevention
Law 2010-746 also outlined the measures licensed gambling operators must adopt to ensure the protection of French bettors and prevent fraudulent activities. In the event of a given customer’s account closure, a licensed operator is required to store the real-money balance (if available) for six years. If the customer fails to withdraw their balance within this period, the funds are acquired by the state.
Respectively, the operator is also expected to perform detailed identification checks to verify the identity, age, and address of each newly registered player. The requirement also aims to protect minors from being exposed to gambling-related activities. The same goes for the payment methods players use, which also require identification for the purposes of fraud and money laundering prevention.
While we are on the subject, licensed operators can conduct payments only with banking solutions offered by payment service providers that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) or the European Union (EU). This is to prevent fraud and tax evasion.
Companies applying for licenses must describe in detail what technology they intend to use to protect the financial and private data of their registrants, in line with Law 78-17 of January 6, 1978.
Responsible Gambling
Where responsible gambling is concerned, the locally licensed operators are expected to close accounts at the request of French customers, a practice known as self-exclusion. Apart from protecting minors, the operators must take all the necessary precautions to prevent compulsive gamblers from having access to their services.
This rule applies regardless of whether the player has self-excluded on their own accord for up to three years or has been involuntarily banned from gambling with a decision of the Criminal Court. In this vein, French players can voluntarily request to be added to the blacklist of the French Ministry of the Interior. Some people are added to said list against their will, following a court decision.
Regardless, the accounts of individuals whose names are on the blacklist must be immediately terminated by the gambling companies. Under Article 29 of Law 2010-476, a telephone line should be made available to problem gamblers in need of assistance. The bottom line is operators should do everything within their means to warn customers about the pathological dangers associated with gambling and protect them from addiction.
Penalization
As for penalization, French players themselves need not fear prosecution on behalf of local authorities. There are no known cases of consumers being fined, arrested, or imprisoned for gambling at unregulated offshore websites that lack local permits.
Online operators are prosecuted, either for violation of their licensing conditions or for servicing locals without valid licenses. Even if the companies have based their servers and offices abroad, servicing players without authorization is still considered illegal under France’s laws.
Even if the company holds a valid permit from another EU member state (Malta, for instance), it is still prohibited from servicing locals without the authorization of ARJEL. The penalties depend on the severity of the transgression.
The most common measure taken by French authorities is to block the access to unlicensed gaming operations in line with Article 61 of Law 2010-746. The violators first receive formal notifications from the French regulator. More severe measures are taken if they continue to transgress.
In rare cases, the authorities initiate criminal prosecution against the transgressors. So far, there have been several cases of unauthorized offshore companies being prosecuted and fined although we will refrain from listing the names of the fined violators. It suffices to say four foreign operators were sanctioned in 2013 and 2014 with fines ranging from €15,000 to €300,000.
Another measure implemented by French authorities is restricting the financial flows to unauthorized gambling sites in line with Article L563-2 of France’s Monetary and Financial Code. With that said, this course of action has so far proved inefficient, at least judging by a 2013 report issued by the French regulator.
Legal Gambling Age, Cryptocurrencies, Taxes, and Gambling-Related Debts
1Legal Gambling Age
French residents can register and place real-money bets online as long as they are at least 18 years old. France-authorized gambling sites do everything within their means to prevent minors from using their services in line with local regulations. All real-money accounts undergo age and identity verification checks to ensure they are not registered by persons below the legal gambling age.
2Cryptos
The balance of players from France can be funded only with certain approved banking instruments. Due to the country’s regulations, France-authorized betting sites are prohibited from offering local gamblers the option of funding their balance directly with Bitcoin.
3Enforcement of Gambling-Related Debts
France Casinos
Debts resulting from gambling-related activities are not enforceable in France. With that in mind, exceptions are made in certain circumstances. One example is when a patron buys chips with checks whose value is insufficient and cannot cover the full amount purchased in chips. In this instance, the gambling operator has the right to demand payment of this type of debt.
4Taxes on Earnings
As a general rule, recreational casino gamblers are exempt from paying taxes on their earnings under French law because such activities are not considered a lucrative source of profit. However, an exception is made for professional poker players since this game is not considered to be purely a game of chance. For some people, it is a professional activity and as such, is subjected to the country’s income tax laws.
France Online Gambling Regulator
Online gambling in France is subject to the regulations of the local Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne (ARJEL, Online Gaming Regulatory Authority in English). This is an independent administrative body that was established under Article 34 of Law 2010-476 in 2010. ARJEL is granted the power to oversee and control gambling activities from three distinctive sectors, namely horse race wagering, sports betting, and poker.
Legal Status of Chance Games
Poker is excluded from the ban on casino games because to win, players rely mostly on their skills rather than on chance. The country still prohibits online games of chance. Video slots, blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and instant-win games all belong to this category. As for the exact definition of chance games, it is rather wide but generally such games are defined as follows:
“All operations offered to the public, whatsoever they are called, intended to engender the hope of a gain which would be due, even partially, to chance, and for which a financial sacrifice is required from the participants by the operator.” (Article L320-1 of the Interior Security Code)
Consumer Protection and Fraud Prevention
With that in mind, the regulator has the remit to safeguard French gamblers (especially those from risk groups), preserve the integrity of the online gambling sector through constant supervision, issue licenses, and ensure the operators’ full compliance with local laws.
ARJEL also deals with fraud prevention and combats unauthorized gambling. It has the remit to request ISPs to restrict the access to such sites. The same goes for search engine operators who may be asked by the regulator to cease referencing illegal gambling operators. Apart from that, the regulator has the responsibility to ensure underage individuals are not exposed to any form of gambling activity.
Licensing Procedure and Conditions
To gain the approval of ARJEL, applicants must provide the regulator with all the necessary information in regard to their management, liabilities, and legal structure. Another requirement is for the companies to be based in member states of the EU or to be part of the European Economic Area (EEA).
The regulator is granted the right to decline license issuance to operators whose owners, CEOs, or management members have been convicted of serious criminal offenses over the span of the last ten years. ARJEL’s website contains a registry where bettors from the country can see all online gambling operators that currently hold licenses from the regulator.
ARJEL licenses have a validity of five years, after which period the online gambling operators have the option of renewal. As for taxation, locally authorized sportsbooks and online lottery operators must pay taxes based on their turnover, which is the difference between the wagers they have accepted and their profits.
Licensing Fees and Taxation
Each approved operator must also pay initial licensing fees which differ depending on the number of license applications as follows: €5,000 for one application, €8,000 for two, and €10,000 for three license applications. Other than that, the applicants are required to contribute annual fees of up to €40,000 for the maximum of three applications.
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It is important to point out the taxes in question are rather high in France, which dissuades many gambling companies from applying for local licenses. The percentages coincide with those for landbased operators as follows: 33.7% of the gross revenue of online sportsbooks, 1.8% of all wagers made by online poker players, and 5.3% of the wagers placed on horse racing.
ARJEL Passes the Baton to ANJ
One thing to keep in mind is that ARJEL is soon to transfer its oversight duties to a newly formed regulatory body, known as L’autorité nationale des jeux or ANJ. ANJ is expected to take over in the spring of 2020 and will act as a single regulatory authority that would control and license all forms of gambling in the country, both landbased and online.
ARJEL and Player Persecution
ARJEL is a rather picky regulator and as such, has currently granted licenses to a select few trustworthy gambling operators. French residents have a limited choice from 13 authorized gambling sites, all of which are added to the ARJEL’s registry.
Of course, French gamblers always have the option to join offshore gambling sites that hold permits of lesser regulatory weight from jurisdictions like Curacao, Panama, or Costa Rica. However, we advise against such practices and recommend bettors to take their real-money action to French-licensed companies to spare themselves any headaches.
French citizens themselves are not legally penalized with fines or prosecuted for gambling on unauthorized sites. Yet, ARJEL itself emphasizes on the fact players who are willing to take their chances with such operators are no longer subject to the regulator’s protection. They risk becoming victims of fraud.
Are There Casinos In France
Landbased Gambling Regulators in France
The landbased gambling sector in France is overseen by two state-owned regulatory entities. Each one is tasked with the oversight of specific gambling activities like sports betting, lotteries, horse race wagering, and landbased casino games of chance.
France Casino List
Française des Jeux
Française des Jeux or FDJ has the remit to regulate all landbased sports betting activities in France. It also manages the country’s national lottery, known as the Lotto. Landbased gambling activities in the country were decriminalized in 1933 with a special decree introduced by the French government. This led to the creation of a monopolized national lottery, the Lotto, which continues to be in operation to this date.
Apart from the Lotto, the FDJ https://www.groupefdj.com/fr/ runs a variety of other games whose outcome is based on chance, including the EuroMillions and keno. The governmental body also offers lotteries organized exclusively for the purposes of charity, alongside bingo games.
In addition to these responsibilities, the FDJ also officially sponsors the FDJ cycling team. Until the summer of 2018, the country’s government owned as much as 72% of Française des Jeux. Eventually, it decided to give up 50% of its ownership and make the FDJ a public entity in hopes of generating more revenue for the national treasury.
The state-wide monopoly of the FDJ ended in 2010 with the passage of Law 2010-476 and the creation of ARJEL. Today, the regulator’s scope of power is restricted only to the above-mentioned forms of gambling.
Pari Mutuel Urbain
Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) is the entity that holds the monopoly on horse race wagering in France. This segment of the gambling industry has a long history in France, with horse racing companies being permitted to provide pooled wagering from the late 19th century onwards.
However, the PMU was entrusted with organizing and overseeing these activities in the late 20th century, following the passing of Decree 97-456. The latter was signed into law at the beginning of May 1997 to govern horse racing companies in France along with pooled wagering.
Does France Have Casinos
Greyhound racing enjoys significantly less popularity in the country but still has its solid following. Such activities fall under the provisions of Decree 83-922 which came into force on October 20, 1983. Of course, this pertains to landbased race betting activities. Online wagering on races of either type falls under the regulatory scope of ARJEL.