French regulatory changes "unlikely" before 2017, says France Pari CEO
Hervé Schlosser says tax reductions and online casino legalisation may be too "risky" for current government to implement
Much needed changes to France’s egaming taxes and the legalisation of online casino games is unlikely to occur before the country’s 2017 presidential election, France Pari chairman and CEO Hervé Schlosser has told eGaming Review.
In an interview with eGR, Schlosser also said new licence applications from foreign operators were unlikely before the election and added any taxation changes would be too big a political risk for the current government.
“The momentum will come with the major political changes in France, particularly with the presidential elections in 2017,” Schlosser said.
“I doubt the government will do anything with elections less than two years from now as it would be something that would be quite risky to change taxes,” he added.
Current French licensees are required to pay corporation tax of 33%, in addition to a 9.3% sports betting turnover tax and 2% tax on online poker cash game pots.
Last month the regulator l’Autorité de regulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) issued a new batch of licences to operators including Unibet, bwin.party and Betclic Everest Group, extending the companies’ operating licences to 2020.
But Diane Mulleneux, head of Pinsent Masons’ gambling and gaming practice, agreed that any overhaul to the market was “very unlikely to be modified in the near future.”
“ARJEL’s president Mr Coppolani indicated that virtual slot machines are not to be expected any time soon, being considered as too addictive and therefore too risky. However, he did suggest that the authorisation of some other types of casino games could be considered, but not in the near future,” she added.
According to figures released by ARJEL last month, gross gaming revenue (GGR) from regulated French online market rose 3% to 190m with a 17% rise in sports betting revenues offsetting decline in poker and horse racing.
The ruling Socialist Party announced earlier this year it would assess proposals to include online poker liquidity sharing between France and other EU countries as part of a new Digital Bill expected before Parliament next year.
Also included in the bill are proposals to simplify ARJEL’s procedures for blocking illegal websites and ways to tackle excessive gambling and enhancing the prevention of gambling by minors.
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