In an interview with iGaming , ARJEL President Jean-François Villotte has called for the forthcoming review of French gaming regulation to require that players’ funds be held in legal trusts. 42b4f
His comments came in response to questions about the demise of Full Tilt Poker. ARJEL had granted the site a gaming license to operate in , but regulator was not responsible for the losses suffered by French players. Nonetheless, he itted that lessons could be learned from the experience:
More than just a segregated , it is necessary to have the legal means to protect player funds and this is the purpose of trusts and trust companies. In the review team we will ask that the law expressly states this.
PokerStars has already initiated a program to keep its French players’ deposits in trust. The fully reimbursed.”
Euro Player Liquidity 4z276g
The recent agreement betweensingle European player pool. M Villotte poured cold water on the prospect:
No it cannot be regarded as a first step towards the opening of European liquidity…. The problem of increasing liquidity is different: we believe that the law could be changed when cooperation agreements and identical levels of regulation exist.
The phrase “identical levels of regulation (de niveaux de régulation identiques)” is significant, suggesting that regulations do not actually have to be the same, they need only be equivalent. This leaves the door open for cross border player pools in advance of a single EU wide regulatory framework that may take many years to achieve.
The Introduction of New Games 58105d
Several new forms of poker have recently been authorized and M Villotte was careful to clarify that the purpose of authorizing new games was not to the development of online gaming; rather it was explicitly to prevent players from going to non-State regulated sites. 7 Card Stud, Omaha and 5 Card Triple Draw have all been recently approved.
He explained that the regulator sees an attractive gaming selection as being an important weapon to be used against illegal gaming operators.
On Taxes 1o1p3k
M Villotte recognized that the levels of taxation imposed on French online poker were an issue. In introducing the subject, he first denied that the overall market was suffering and that it compared well with UK and Italian markets even though his own published reports have shown a substantial fall in almost all statistics concerning online poker. He went on to indicate that despite this the subject was under review:
It is essential to find an equilibrium point which allows illegal gambling to be chased down without sacrificing either the fight against addiction or the defense of ethical sport … To find this balance operating profit margins are necessary … and they can result from changes in the tax base.
This is as close as the regulator has come to acknowledging that many gaming companies offering online poker in are doing so at a loss in the expectation that tax changes will be made. Without lower taxes ARJEL reports are certain to to show continued declines in online poker.