Last week the French government declared that they were planning to legalize online gambling. The office of Francois Fillon, Prime Minister of France stated that they were studying a report that they commissioned in November 2007 into how the internet gambling market could be opened in their country.

At this time, France bans all online games that involve money, with the exception of the pari-mutuel, that is pool betting, monopoly PMU on horse betting and Francaise des Jeux, the lottery monopoly of France which provide scratchcards and online betting. Last year, in France several heads of foreign gambling operators were arrested for breaking gambling laws of France.

In the report there are 3 possibilities to open up the tightly regulated French gambling market: first of all France can issue licenses that will limit internet-based betting to sporting events, plus card games betting, or it can license all the games excepting lotteries.

The report seems not to imagine wide-open gaming in the country. According to this report the internet-based slot machines legalization could run in contradiction of “aims of common interest” of France as well as the protection of players against addiction and the money laundering and fraud prevention.

The European Commission wants to put an end to state gambling monopolies. France is one of the ten member nations of the European Union that currently violates EU policy concerning free trade between the states of the EU. Now the European Commission is going to enforce the EU antitrust rules and free internal market.