French casinos move to ban foreign online sites

11.02.2010, Four online gambling sites — two British — are facing court action by French casinos seeking to bar them from receiving a licence to operate in France when the Gallic market is liberalised this summer.

Britain's Sportingbet and 888 Holdings are being sued along with Malta's Unibet and Bwin of Austria by three of France's biggest casino operators in a test case as Paris prepares to end a state monopoly on Internet gambling.

Tranchant, Barrière and Joagroupe, which run a total of 104 casinos, say their online rivals have flouted the law by setting up French language sites to tout for custom in France without waiting for parliamentary approval.

They told Paris Criminal Court that the online groups had ''violated French legislation in a deliberate and patent manner'' and called for licences to be withheld for two years. If the lawsuit is upheld by judges, the four Internet firms would find themselves at a notable disadvantage in a market thought to be worth hundreds of millions of euros a year.

Licensed operators are likely to dominate since they will be allowed to advertise.

But Maitre Martine Karsenty-Ricard, Sportingbet's lawyer, said the Paris court had no jurisdiction over companies operating outside France and urged judges to throw out the lawsuit.

The case, which is likely to end Wednesday, comes two weeks before the French Senate is expected to back a bill authorising private online gamblers to apply for licences. The legislation has already been approved by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and is likely to come into force in time for the French to bet on the World Cup.

About 100 operators will apply for a licence, according to French government estimates, but only about half will receive one.

They will have the right to take bets on racing, other sports and poker, but not on activities such as one-arm bandits considered by French officials to be dangerously addictive.

The new operators will face high tax rates which critics say are intended to favour the two state-run firms which control the French market at present — Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), the bookmakers, and Française des Jeux (FdJ), the national lottery. An estimated 3 million French people already bet online with sites operating outside France.

Über iGaming News:

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