French gambling was struck with nervousness following the ousting of François Bayrou as Prime Minister, after he lost a no-confidence vote.
Bayrou had been one of the few voices in government that was seen as a proponent of the gambling industry, distancing himself from the touted tax hikes in the country.
He had specifically tried to find exceptions for horse racing when it came to the tax rises on the gambling industry, in a situation somewhat mirroring that of the UK, he warned that it would have stark consequences for jobs.
Bayrou was fairly neutral on scuppered proposals to legalise online casinos in France, a proposal that slowly drifted back onto the table in recent years.
Most recently, a French Senate hearing gave a spotlight to online leaders to lay out the case for and the regulation of online casinos.
Nicolas Béraud, Betclic CEO and President of the online gaming trade group AFJEL, emphasised that French online operators are already facing stark tax bills, at close to 70% of their GGR, once extra costs like VAT, media spend tax and right to bet levy are included.
He stressed that it was important for French lawmakers to understand that such levels of taxation “contrast with around 20% to 35% in many other European markets”.
Grégory Rabuel, President of Casinos de France and CEO of Groupe Barrière, reiterated the point that the country’s 202 casinos were not in favour of iCasino regulation, but, should it happen, they would be ready, which very much chimes with Gaming&Co’s recent analysis by Jake Pollard.
There are a myriad of candidates that could take over from Bayrou, and it’s an appointment which will fuel intrigue from the gambling industry, given the future of casinos and taxes.
Whilst there is no candidate that stands out as being potentially favourable for the legalisation of online casinos, both Sébastien Lecornu and Gérald Darmanin were part of the Michele Barnier government that originally put forward the bill to legalise online casinos.
Bernard Cazeneuve is also a frontrunner to replace Bayrou. During his time as interior minister, he showed that he is content to embrace the gambling industry, or at least the land-based sector.
Cazeneuve put forward the idea of reintroducing legal gambling in Paris, commissioning a report that would see it explore the potential of legislation in the French capital, building economic growth similar to London.
iGaming Expert Insight: It remains to be seen whether the changes at the top of the French government will have a significant impact on the future of online casinos in France. However, as we have seen in other markets this year, a small political movement can have a major shift on the gambling framework trajectory.
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