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Monday, March 12, 2007
France adopts law against unauthorised online gambling

On 5 March, the French Parliament approved the new «anti-crime» law, which contains a number of provisions against unauthorised betting and gambling.

The main provisions of the law related to gambling are:

  • The Ministers of Finance and Domestic Affairs can block the financial transactions of individuals and organizations who are involved in unauthorized gambling and betting.
  • Fines related to unauthorized betting have been doubled (€90,000 for illegal betting and €200,000 for organized gambling crime)
  • Advertising for any unauthorized gambling, including online, is explicitly forbidden. The fine for violating this provision is €30,000 or 4 times the expenses on advertising.
  • Internet Service Providers will have to alert their customers when they want to access an unauthorized betting website that they violate criminal law.

    The French action is illustrating the trend by governments around the world today to enforce gambling laws on the Internet platform as well.