French Parliament passes online gaming bill
French parliament votes fell in favor of a bill that will legalize and regulate online poker and other forms of online gambling. The bill passed by 299 votes to 223, putting the historic bill on track to be signed into law ahead of June’s World Cup in South Africa.
Budget minister Francois Baroin was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying, "This text will allow us to progressively dry up the black market in online gambling by creating a legal offer which obeys the rules.”
There are many online poker rooms that cater to European poker players, and France has a large stable of poker pros who appear on many different circuits around the world. Once the bill is signed into law this customer base will provide tax income to the nation as online poker will be taxed at 2 percent -- sports bettors will see a tariff of 7.5 percent.
Online poker room PokerStars recently announced a live- action poker tour for French poker players called the France Poker Series.
Click here to sing up with PokerStars and qualify for a seat on the France Poker Series