FRANCE GEARING UP FOR ONLINE GAMBLING - Online-Casinos.com

Major new policy now evolving

The French daily newspaper Aujourd’hui en France has confirmed earlier reports in Le Parisien (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reports) that France is moving toward the regulation rather than prohibition of online gambling, perhaps as early as 2009. The newspaper report that “everything is ready” for France to initiate discussions on its proposed framework for online gaming and betting.

In current moves, former MP Bruno Durieux handed in the results of a study he carried out on online gambling for the French finance inspectorate at the end of last week, and President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to give his final approval for the policy shift in the near future.

President Sarkozy has displayed a more open mind to a competitive betting market in France, and Budget Minister Eric Woerth and other French government representatives have held talks with European Commission officials in Brussels this year.

Woerth disclosed earlier this week that the president favours a controlled approach to opening up the market, ensuring that competition is even and balanced.

The timeframe for “a new era in online gaming and betting” is thought to be towards the end of “2009 or early in 2010”, according to Woerth.

Read more of this online gambling article here...