Betclic CEO implores French government to consider regulating igaming
Nicolas Beraud warns of black market growth without adequate legislation and need to protect vulnerable customers
Betclic CEO Nicolas Beraud has implored the French government to consider regulating igaming as a means to protect players and deliver tax monies to the nation-state.
Speaking to radio station France Info this week, Beraud ramped up pressure on French authorities to deliver legislative change to prevent leakage to the black market.
After championing the success of sports betting in the market, which saw Betclic deliver record performance during the World Cup, the CEO questioned why this had not yet been extended to online casino.
Beraud said: “It is important that the public authorities control other gambling in the same way as online sports betting. Sports betting is one-sixth of gambling in France. Of the remaining five-sixths, there are not the same controls as we have on online sports betting.
“France is also one of the rare countries to have decided not to regulate online casino, and over one million players are now playing in France with no regulators, no tax for the state, which might be the government’s next step to regulate,” he added.
France currently has legislation in place for sports betting, horseracing and online poker, but as yet failed to follow the majority of Western Europe in delivering a legalised igaming space.
Reflecting on the World Cup, Beraud revealed the group returned a record number of active players during the tournament, along with the Betclic app being downloaded 300,000 times.
The CEO noted that three million customers staked €615m across the four-week competition, with stakes for the final between Argentina and France amounting to €23m, a group record for a single event.
While Beraud pointed towards a potential future for regulated igaming, he was resolute in the importance of responsible gambling and the need to protect young people.