Betfair Pulls Out of France

With new online gambling laws in place and the European Union seemingly ineffective in getting France to follow set EU policy on i-Gaming, Betfair has pulled out of the French market. 

Betfair has announced its intention to stop accepting bets from France and is considering whether or not to make an application for a licence to operate under the new regime, IntergameOnline.com reports.

According to Betfair, there is little clarity on how the online gambling sector will operate in France. 

Tim Phillips, director of European public affairs at Betfair, said: "We are looking very hard at the French market and how we might operate within the new licensed regime. Though it's not impossible for a newcomer to create a commercially viable business, most projections show it will be very difficult to do so, given the proposed restrictions imposed on licence holders.

"French legislation will certainly benefit the incumbent players and the ultimate loser will be the French consumer. The new law does not adequately open the former monopoly's market to true competition from other operators. We hope that the review, scheduled 18 months from now, will amend the law to address these flaws."

Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com