The latest from France’s gambling sector
The latest developments in France’s gambling sector have hinged on the recent adoption of the 2025 budget, which had been delayed due to the political situation in France. The collapse of Michel Barnier’s government on 4 December 2024 led to the suspension of budget talks, and work only resumed in January 2025 following the appointment of François Bayrou as Prime Minister and the formation of his government in late December. The Finance Act was enacted on 14 February and the Social Security Financing Act, which is currently being examined by the Constitutional Council, could be enacted as early as 28 February.
The 2025 Finance Act extends the Paris gaming clubs experiment and authorises new forms of pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.
Parisian gaming clubs have been allowed to operate since 2018 under an experiment that was due to end on 31 December 2024. The clubs, which want roulette to be added to the list of games they can offer, were hoping to emerge from this experimental status and see their activity legalised permanently under the 2025 Finance Act. In the end, the Act merely extends their experimental status once again, until 2027.Due to the late adoption of the budget, the clubs were forced to close their doors on 31 December, leaving their 1,500 employees on short-time working for two months.
For its part, the horse racing industry has obtained an extension to the scope of pari-mutuel betting on horse racing. This means that Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and online horse racing betting operators will be able to develop new forms of pari-mutuel betting, including in-play betting on races and pari-mutuel betting on historical races. The horse racing parent companies that own PMU say this is a first step towards adapting to new consumer habits, a shift they consider necessary if the industry is to survive. The horse racing industry relies on income from horse racing betting, which has lost more than half its customers since 2010: numbers have plummeted from 7 to 3.2 million. The industry finances 40,000 jobs at 233 racecourses and generates €800 million in revenue for the French State every year. For 2024, PMU has announced stake totals of €9.8 billion – down 2% in France – and a net profit of €837 million.
The subject of online casinos is on hold for the time being.
The Barnier government tabled an amendment to open up online casinos to competition early on in talks on the Finance Act. Faced with an outcry from bricks-and-mortar casino operators and more than a hundred mayors, the amendment was withdrawn and consultations opened with all stakeholders. The process was suspended after the collapse of the government in December.
There are two opposing views on this issue. On the one hand, online operators are calling for online casinos to be opened up to competition to combat illegal online gambling. They estimate that 4 million players in France gamble illegally, i.e. more than the 3.6 million players who have legal accounts. Online operators claim that opening up online casinos would generate an extra €1 billion in tax revenue each year. For its part, the French Gaming Authority, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), estimates that 3 million players in France gamble illegally and puts the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) from these games at between €750 million and €1.5 billion.
On the other hand, land-based casinos are arguing for the authorisation to be reserved for them to preserve their branch of business in the country. They claim that opening up online casinos to competition would lead to the closure of a third of the 200 or so French casinos – echoing a statement made by the ANJ to the Senate in February 2023 – threatening 15,000 of the 60,000 jobs generated by the industry in the first year alone. They also warn of a 25% drop in takings at the remaining casinos, leading at the very least to a loss of tax revenue exceeding €440 million for the State and the local authorities. It is worth noting that, in some towns, tax revenue from casinos represents up to 50% of the local budget.
A number of recent moves in the French market appear to point towards the future: Française des Jeux (FDJ) has acquired Kindred, one of Europe’s leading online casino operators, and Novomatic AG has bought Vikings Casinos SAS, a French group that runs 10 casinos.
For the ANJ, the new acquisition by FDJ – in which the French State remains a 20.5% shareholder – fuels the trend towards concentration in the French market, a situation that risks leading to a trade war between operators. This concern is shared by the Casinos de France union, which believes that the acquisition of Kindred accentuates the concentration of players from all gaming verticals around FDJ.
Behavioural taxation: the 2025 Social Security Financing Act increases levies and introduces a tax on advertising expenditure from 1 July 2025.
The rate of the Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG, a tax that finances social welfare in France) will rise from 11.2% to 11.9% for casino games and from 6.2% to 7.2% for lottery games, while social security levies on passenger ship casinos will be reduced.
The offline sports betting GGR levy will increase from 6.6% to 7.6%, with that from online sports betting rising from 10.6% to 15%. The 0.2% tax on online poker stakes will be replaced by a 10% GGR levy.
A 15% tax will be introduced on operators’ advertising expenditure, with the exception of horse race betting operators.
FDJ, which announced turnover of €3.065 billion in 2024 (up 17% on 2023) and an EBITDA of €792 million (up 21% on 2023), estimates that the increase in levies will cost it around €45 million in 2025 and €90 million over a full year.
The French Online Gaming Association, the Association Française des Jeux en Ligne (AFJEL) estimates that for online poker, this is equivalent to a 7.5-point increase in the rate of social security contributions, and has warned that some operators may have to shut up shop. Online operators are also pointing out that the difference of tax rates between offline and online might lead to a distortion of competition in the market to their detriment.
The ANJ is of the opinion that taxing this market in the name of public health does not appear illegitimate and points out the fact that operators’ 2025 promotional strategies show a significant 11% increase in budget, even though there are no major sports events in 2025. The same conclusion was reached by the Conseil des prélèvements obligatoires of the Cour des Comptes (an independent public body responsible for auditing the use of public funds in France), whose report even recommends taxing all advertising and sponsorship expenditure by operators, including bonuses, at a rate of 25%.
While we await the ANJ’s summary for the second half of 2024 and the evolution of market figures in 2025, it is a safe bet that the French State’s gambling policy objective of “ensuring the balanced development of various types of games, in order to avoid any economic destabilisation of the sectors concerned” will be at the heart of the discussions.
Author: Claire Pinson-Bessonnet – Founding partner at CPB Avocats France
From Brussels to Paris via Barcelona, Claire Pinson-Bessonnet is one of the most experienced public affairs lawyers in Paris. Admitted to the Paris bar in 2008, she headed up European affairs for a French regulatory authority before running compliance for a private entity. She went on to lead regulatory affairs for a law firm focusing on public affairs. Claire now provides personal support to her clients, assisting them with the representation of their interests.
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