UK operators could break into French market

Online casinos in the UK are waiting for a ruling in France on October 7 that could allow them to break into the French market. The domestic online gambling market has not been strong lately, and this new opportunity could see such names as William Hill, 888, and PartyGaming expand their operations overseas.

After the bill goes before parliament in October, France will open up its online gambling market to foreign operators in 2010. At present, only the state lottery provider Groupe Francaise des Jeuz and bookmakers Pari Matuel Urbain are permitted to operate in the country.

If the move goes ahead, revenue from online gambling in France could more than double in 2010 to €671 million, and go up even further to €1.3 billion in 2011. These figures come from a study by H2 Gambling Capital based in Manchester.

Jim Ryan, the chief executive officer at online casino PartyGaming, was quoted in Bloomberg as saying that the “size of the population” and the “appetite for gambling” make this a “particularly exciting opportunity for us.”

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