5 for sports betting and horse betting and 2 for poker

Finally, it will be January 1, 2010. The opening to competition of the French market for Internet betting and games including the Minister of the Budget, Eric Woerth, yesterday presented the terms will intervene with a slight delay from the initial schedule. Games Act of the PMU in remains of the France by the 2009 current about the monopoly of the French and des acte Act However, this slight lag should not hide the essential, namely respect for the displayed objective: a "controlled" opening "Pragmatism is not the naïve optimism", observed yesterday Eric Woerth, recalling two imperatives of the public authorities: the prevention of addiction and the fight against cheating, fraud, and money laundering.

Thus, the opening is real in the three main sectors of games: horse betting, in their mutual form; the sports betting side but live, not without supervision (official events and actual results); Finally, the poker. A field consistent with expectations, with the exception perhaps of the perimeter reduced casinos games.

These three types of games will be due for five years, renewable, license operators which comply with a specification. Basis of the draft law and a next order games, Also ensuring the monitoring of the market and contributing to the fight against illegal websites, the instance must, prior to awarding the licences, ensure including accounting separation of the activities of the candidates on the French market operators, and the existence of a permanent correspondent in France. Other important parameters: Bank domiciliation of the players, and the transparency of the means of payment. Sites, which will not respect its various points, will be considered illegal. Similarly, a player of France using a foreign site, even recognized by a Member State of the European Union, will be illegal.

Capped return rate

Interested in mentoring practices, Paris also took an important decision by capping the rate of average return to player, which will be included between 80 and 85. The measure is not to the taste of the operators of online games, also deplore the heaviness of taxation (read below). The Government, which intended to at least maintain the tax revenue from the games (or about 5 billion), provides, for its part, harmonized taxation by the easing. "It takes a risk," even said Eric Woerth, before adding: "he will have to catch up on the volume".

Concretely, the sampling rate is 7.5 for sports betting and horse betting, and 2 for poker. In paris, added a levy in the financing of certain fields: 1 for sports betting for amateur sport and high level, 8 horse bets. In the same spirit, a portion of the taxes on the poker will be the renovation of historic monuments. Professional sports will also be entitled to its "financial return" with the authorization of the sponsorship, "under conditions avoiding conflicts of interest" and, especially, a first in Europe, the extension to the sector of games online the right to property of the organizers on their events, hence the possibility of trade agreements.

Regarding the finalization of the Bill Calendar, Eric Woerth has confirmed its presentation by the Council of Ministers late March - early April, for a passage of text to Parliament "before the summer recess. The regulatory authority, whose role is crucial in this case, it should have its President as early as the end of March, and the instance will have 7 members.