“Those that exist, which are sometime operating illegally must either be closed or be regulated or have to contribute” to the national budget via taxes, Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on television station TF1 Tuesday.

The market of illegal online gaming such as roulette and blackjack is worth as much as €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), a 2023 PricewaterhouseCoopers report for France’s national gambling authority found. 

Prime Minister Michel Barnier's administration has submitted an amendment to its 2025 budget plan – currently under debate in parliament – to legalise online casinos.

The government argues that France and Cyprus are the only two EU member states where online casinos remain illegal.

France allows online betting, but online casino-game gambling has been banned, with previous governments arguing that the risk of addiction is too great. 

Poker, which is played in casinos and allowed online, is the exception because it is deemed to rely more on a player's skill than on sheer luck.

There is already a growing illegal online casino market in France, which the government believes generates up to 1.5 billion euros every year, or roughly 10 percent of all the sector's income.

By legalising, and regulating, online casinos the government believes it can "limit the impact of online games on the health of consumers", it said.

It would also be able to tax them to the tune of 55.6 percent of gross revenues.

'Castrophic' consequences

The plan has been met with strong opposition.

Féderation Addiction –  a network of associations and professionals working in the field of addiction – has called for the amendment to be withdrawn, calling it "irresponsible and contrary to public health priorities". 

"In 2019, 1.4 million French people were already at risk of excessive gaming, including nearly 400,000 who suffer from pathological gambling disorders," the group said in a statement published Tuesday, warning that the number of players with problems was on the increase in France.

The real-world casino industry also voiced concern. Professionals have already protested against the plan, saying the impact on their business would be "catastrophic", costing them between 20 and 30 percent of their gross revenues.

Gregory Rabuel, head of France's casino association, told business daily Les Echos that the move would lead to "the closure of 30 percent of our establishments", with 15,000 jobs at risk.

However, advocates of the government's move argue that there already is a sizeable online casino market, and its legalisation would not add significantly to competitive pressures on bricks-and-mortar casinos compared to now.