France Gears Up For Legal Betting

30th May, 2010

One of the most anticipated market openings in the history of online betting is nearly upon us, after the country's legal regulator announced the authorised betting markets allowed under the new laws.

Online bookmakers and poker rooms in France have been eagerly anticipating the moves from ARJEL, the French regulator who awards licenses to some of the biggest online gaming companies in the world wishing to gain a French license.

France has been dominated in recent years by two monopolies - Francais de Jeux (FDJ.fr) for sports betting, and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU.fr) for horse racing. Any other online bookie has been deemed 'illegal' in the jurisdiction, including Bwin, Betclic and Unibet.

The new opening will see an estimated fifty bookmakers applying for a new online betting license, including the PMU who will offer fixed odds betting on sports for the first time in their history.

Under the new laws, bookmakers applying for a license will only be allowed to offer fixed odd bets on those sports, events and markets authorised by ARJEL, which includes all the major French and European leagues and cups, but does not allow many US sports such as baseball and American Football.

It is thought that the new licenses will be awarded in the next two weeks, in time for the 2010 World Cup.