
Last week’s ICE2025 conference in Barcelona drew a packed audience to the First Gaming in France Briefing, debating outstanding affairs on iCasino regulation, taxes and politics.
Diane Mullenex, partner at the law firm Pinsent Masons, opened the event by saying that the “landscape of regulation in France is very challenging” but that she also believed that “the market should and will open” eventually.
The political uncertainty that has dogged France since last summer will impact proceedings, but what will ultimately “drive the [regulatory] opening [will be] a balance between needing more money and curbing an illegal market” that is one of the largest in Europe, she added.

Nicolas Béraud, CEO of the French online market leader Betclic and President of AFJEL, the iGaming trade body in France, said one of the key factors impacting operators is that they are subjected to GGR and VAT taxes that come to more than 60%, but they cannot make up for these with revenues from legal online casino activities.
“This has given rise to a major illegal market, as regulated operators face unfair competition” in the form of unregulated sites that “are just a few clicks away on Google”. “When the legal offer is attractive, in many countries we have seen that it is effective to reduce the illegal market,” Béraud added.
Progressive casinos

Clément Martin Saint-Léon, MD Gaming for Groupe Barrière and speaking on behalf of the Casinos de France trade body of which he is Secretary General, said CdF was not against online casino regulation, but opening the market would “destabilise [land-based casinos in France] by causing a 15%-25% loss of GGR”.
“We are not saying we don’t have to open the market. We are not against progress, but you need to consider the finances, taxation and employment of land-based casinos,” he added.
Martin Saint-Léon also called for major reform and simplification of the tax system for gambling groups and reiterated CdF’s call to “give exclusivity to land-based casinos for a certain amount of time. This is the proposal we have made to the government.”
Nicolas Béraud added: “The problem is that most [online] operators cannot be profitable in France (with the current tax levels). If we would add casino games it could balance the revenue.” Being able to offer those games would “allow new and small operators to develop in the French market, which right now is impossible”.
The working committees due to evaluate iCasino regulation are currently suspended and Béraud said he hoped “the new government will continue this work to find a balanced compromise”.
Andrew Rhodes: Black market fight is top priority…
UK Gambling Commission CEO says focus is on illegal gambling as Betsson hits back
Andrew Rhodes, CEO of UKGC, emphasised the “industry warning” over illegal gambling issued by the Commission at the start of the week when he opened the ICE World Regulatory Briefing on Tuesday and said the fight against the UK black market was now a top priority for UKGC.
Alluding to the ongoing licence review of live casino market leader Evolution, Rhodes said supplying games to unlicensed operators was an issue the Commission would confront head on. “Let me be crystal clear, this will not be tolerated,” he said and encouraged licensed operators to investigate the activities of suppliers.
Rhodes said it was “not their job to take action against illegal operators [but] we encourage them to carry out due diligence” if they suspect or can document illegal activities. And “if the Commission detects unlicensed operators [the providers supplying them] face suspension or the prospect of having their licences revoked”.
Asked by Gaming&Co why measures targeting suppliers had taken so long to happen, Rhodes said funding was an issue, but also that previously enforcement actions towards operators accounted for 85% of UKGC activities. He also noted that “nine out of 10 of the largest fines imposed on operators came from UKGC”.
Liberalised, regulated, channelised
He also addressed the issue of restrictive regulations such as in Germany or France that make illegal offers much more attractive to players. “I’m not going to comment on regulations outside the UK,” Rhodes said before adding that Britain is “highly channelised” and despite being highly “liberalised” it is the “most regulated market in the world”.
“We think that works for us, it’s a balance between regulation, personal freedom and consumer protection. It is always delicate and UKGC has to balance all those factors,” added Rhodes.
Meanwhile, Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall hit back yesterday when he told IGB that “regulators sometimes have misunderstood their role”. Instead of protecting consumers and bringing in tax revenues, “they push the business out of the regulated [sector], they don’t fulfil any of [those promises]”.