Betfair takes a swipe at French legislation
The European union is often termed the “common market“, a collection of inter-trading free trade economies where goods and services are free to . Unfortunately a lot of the market has nothing in common and there are quite a few trade imbalances in the markets. Until such time as taxation, legislation and spending are centralised I will always be sceptical as to whether the Euro and the trading bloc can continue without significant tensions. But that’s another story!
On Friday Betfair confirmed that they will no longer accept bets from any of its French-based customers. Betfair said it welcomed the principle of member states moving from a monopoly model to a licensed regime, but warned that the new French gaming laws impose restrictions on licensed operators which are both protectionist and go against the interests of French consumers.
“We are looking very hard at the French market and how we might operate within the new licensed regime,” said Tim Phillips, Director of European Public Affairs at Betfair. “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.”
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