Although France has finally complied with the European Union’s free trade requirements, many online casino operators are not willing to adhere to the country’s new online gambling regulations. As a result, many online casinos and online gambling groups, have decided to pull out of the market.
Palace Group is the latest operator to announce its withdrawal from France’s online gambling industry. It’s casinos, which include Spin Palace, Cabaret Club and Piggs Casino, will no longer accept players from the France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and French Guiana. All traffic from .fr domains will be restricted from accessing all of the Palace Group brands and WagerShare clients.
French players who are already engaged in online gambling activities at Palace Group locations will receive their payouts from WagerShare. However, June 8 marks the date that all .fr domain traffic will be blocked by the Palace Group’s websites.
Palace Group affiliates involved in France’s online gambling will also have to adhere to particular restrictions. French players can no longer be targeted by offline advertising, banner ads or direct marketing. WagerShare also prohibits affiliates from sending French traffic to its online casino brands.
This is just the latest announcement in what is expected to be many, from online casino operators who do not wish to subject themselves to France’s unreasonable new online gambling laws. Free trade advocates Right2Bet call France’s new regulations “draconian” and are expecting even more online casino operators to withdraw from the market.
