The potential launch of a regulated casino market in France was a central issue for discussion at the annual AFJEL conference .

Jake Pollard told SBCNews that the focus was on responsible gaming, licensing and the fight against illegal markets. The French gambling industry gathered this week for an annual conference organised by its industry body AFJEL.

Speaking at the event, Nicolas Béraud , CEO of French market leader Betclic and president of AFJEL, stressed his belief that, with the illegal market growing, “the status quo is no longer sustainable” as licensed operators are simply constrained and unable to offer consumers a key product.

Asked whether regulation would bring the illegal market into the regulated environment, Bero said he was unsure, "if it's a denial; the issue is not whether to open, the market is already open."

He added that French players can find an online casino on Google in minutes and “play without even realizing it’s an illegal site.” He also noted that with an estimated four million active players and revenues of €2 billion, the illegal market in France is already “the size of a mature market.”

"We honestly don't know if problem gambling rates have worsened in recent years, but the four million people playing on illegal sites need to be brought into the legal environment. No one is better placed than online operators to monitor activity and identify problem gamblers," Bero added.

Furthermore, presenting an analysis of the future regulation of online casinos, Isabelle Falk-Pierrotin , president of the French gambling regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) , said that a real balance needs to be found in terms of future regulation.

"In France there are 1.4 million problem gamblers and 400,000 excessive gamblers, so what are the consequences if we add addictive products to them?" 

The ANJ chief also asked whether regulation would dry up the illegal market. “It would certainly help, but the benefits are not so clear,” Falk-Pierrotin said.

She also detailed the potential impact of regulation on land-based casinos and that regulation of the vertical “will not be on the fringes of the existing market, it is just as important, if not more important, than it was in 2010” when the country legalized online sports betting and poker.

Anders Dorf , CEO of the Danish Gambling Authority Spillemyndigheden , said the most important part of tackling illegal gambling "is to make sure you have a legal offer that enables you to have a robust legal market" so that legal operators can compete effectively.

Dorf added that "blocking illegal DNS pages is like hunting rabbits," but since Denmark started doing it, "there have been 13 times fewer illegal sites, so it definitely helps."

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