France’s online casino regulatory development will continue in the new year, but a Budget is desperately needed by gambling stakeholders. With Paris’s gaming clubs forced to close on 31 December due to Michel Barnier’s government being brought down over MPs’ rejection of the country’s 2025 Budget, the establishments’ employees are currently “partially unemployed” and the government has agreed to pay …
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Paris gaming clubs hit by government upheavals
Amid France’s ongoing political chaos Gaming clubs in Paris could be forced to close on 31 December due to lack of legal status. Kafkaesque is a description used for unexpected and surreal situations occurring because of unintended consequences or scenarios that no one could have planned for. The tough and seemingly terminal spot Paris’s gaming clubs find themselves in two …
Read More »French gambling at play as Macron makes boldest of bets
How will snap parliamentary elections, and a government potentially led by the far right, reshape France’s gambling sector? Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call snap legislative elections in the wake of the success of France’s far right Rassemblement National at the European elections has caused uncertainty among the country’s gaming and sports betting industry and major ructions among the country’s …
Read More »Smarkets: Macron holds 95% lead as Le Pen eyes biggest shock in political betting history
On Sunday 24 April, the French electorate will once again head to voting stations to decide the outcome of the General Election run-off between President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. The build-up to the Presidential run-off has been closely monitored by political observers across the globe, as France’s underwhelmed electorate could well vote in far-right Marine Le Pen – …
Read More »French racing secures ‘conditional approval’ on restart programme
French horseracing will be allowed to return this May, operating its schedule and track meetings on a ‘conditional basis’ granted by France’s Ministry of Agriculture. Last week, Edouard de Rothschild – President of France Galop – and LeTrot counterpart Jean-Pierre Barjon presented French racing’s action plan to resume fixtures on 11 May behind closed doors. Underlining that races would be held under …
Read More »France Galop eyes May return for French Racing
France Galop, the governing body of French horseracing, is awaiting government approval to restart its racing schedule behind closed doors. Updating the media, France Galop seeks to resume its track meetings in May following the enforced suspension of all French professional sports on 17 March, complying with the government’s national lockdown orders. This weekend, President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that France’s …
Read More »FDJ secures ‘favourable’ €380m loan to repay French state duties
Française des Jeux (FDJ) has secured access to a €380 million syndicated loan, in which funds will be utilised to repay the French state’s agreed 25-year national lottery operating concession. Prior to becoming a publicly listed enterprise by floating on the Paris Euronext Exchange last November, the French government had granted FDJ a 25-year extension on its existing national lottery …
Read More »En Marche maintains FDJ sale agenda but strategy remains unclear
Addressing an audience of French business stakeholders, Bruno Le Maire – France’s Finance Minister – maintained the En Marche government’s schedule of selling state-owned lottery and betting operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) in 2019. Le Marie hinted at an event hosted by MEDEF, France’s enterprise association, that an FDJ sale could be completed by November of this year as En Marche …
Read More »Paddy Power shortens odds on BoJo scrapping backstop
As Boris Johnson’s trip over to the continent has continued to attract attention from UK media, Paddy Power has shortened its odds on whether BoJo can secure a deal with Angela Merkel where a backstop doesn’t exist, despite her outlining a hard line 30-day time limit. The Irish bookmaker has been offering odds of 8/1 that BoJo can agree a deal …
Read More »En Marche appoints banking collective to table an FDJ IPO
The French government has accelerated its plans to privatise state-owned lottery and sports betting operator Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), appointing a collective of eight investment banks to work on the sale of the asset. This week, the APE, the agency overseeing the management French state-owned firms, confirmed that BNP Paribas would be joined by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Credit Agricole, HSBC, …
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