Are There Gambling Casinos In Paris France
- Casinos in Paris, at the time of writing, cannot legally have slot machines in them. In fact, there are no legal slot machines through the city of Paris at all. The casinos offer table games, and there are many that either offer poker as a side feature, or are exclusively poker rooms. Compared to the rest of France, Paris is a bit of an anomaly.
- Applying fobs in Paris, France. There are some English-speaking jobs in Paris that are perfect for expats. For example, there is a need for English-speaking real estate agents as there has been an influx of British citizens moving to France due to economic issues and rising house prices in the UK.
- Intimate and historic Casino de Paris has great atmosphere. The show, Priscilla - Queen of the desert, is a show worth seeing with lots of enjoyable songs from the 80's. All songs are in English, the rest in French.
Paris - There are 3 listed land-based gambling casinos in Paris. Aviation Club de France, 104 Avenue des Champs-Elysees, 75008 Paris, France. Phone: +33 1 45 62 26 88, Fax: +33 1 42 89 21 81, Website: www.aviationclubdefrance.com Nearest Airport: Paris Minimum Gaming Age: 18 Entrance Fee: Free ID/Passport: Required Dress Code: Smart. 2020's top casinos in France include Casino Barriere Le Croisette, Casino Barriere de Biarritz + Casino Barriere de Deauville. Add these and more to your travel plan.
Vive la France! The homeland of fresh baked buttery croissants and expensive wine from the best grapes. Many starry-eyed lovers have dreamed of strolling around the narrow streets of Paris, and taking a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Come visit the Tour de France or Paris Fashion Week, and experience a rich palette of emotions. And while you’re here, don’t forget to search for your new favorite gambling venue, as the majority of the games originate in this magical land of liberty.
The difference between France and the rest of the world is that gambling here isn’t forbidden, but merely restricted. Here are some insights into the French gambling culture and its current status in the country.
Back to the Past
It all began in the early 1500s when the Queen was introduced to the card deck. The French variation was the precursor of the standard 52-card deck in use today. This comes as little surprise, because this innovation actually led to the creation of the majority of the popular games you know and love today.
For example, Blackjack, known in those days as “vingt-et-un,” was developed and played by the French Templars, as well the game of Faro.
These two games specifically were introduced to neighboring Britain, and then shipped across the Atlantic to the United States. And with the help of the French living in Mississippi, these card games spread across the rest of the country.
Cards were not the only thing that matured in France. The 16th century also gave rise to the idea of a state lottery, which was applied throughout Europe.
Other table games, such as poker and chemin de fer (similar to baccarat), developed in France and made their way into Europe and the United States through the decades.
No nation has ever been as democratic towards gambling as France. For example, when slot machines became popular, the government quickly legalized them. In 1997, the state gave its residents an even bigger present, when the government imposed a law that lowered the legal gambling age from 21 to 18.
Legal Environment
France is the foremost country for legal gambling. However, there are huge discrepancies between the offline and online gambling market. As of today, there are over 200 casinos and 16 bingo games halls all over the country.
All of them can be found in official casino guides, where potential gamblers can look through the reviews and make their selections. However, this only relates to brick and mortar casinos.
As for the online gambling platform, the whole situation seems a little biased. Let’s take a closer look at both forms in more detail, in order to understand the difference.
Live Gambling
Any form of gambling in France is regulated by the government and subject to licensing. Land-based casinos should be built in certain areas with designated operating hours. Gaming and casino gambling, sports betting, horse race betting, as well as lotteries, are all overseen and regulated by the Ministry of the Interior and the Budget Minister.
Somewhat ironically the only type of betting forbidden in the country is betting on fantasy sports.
In addition to the ministries who serve as the main branches of regulation, there are also special commissions that have been created to monitor gambling operations.
For instance, legal sports betting and lotteries refer to Francaise de Jeux, while horse racing is covered by Le Pari Mutuel Urbain. All illegal activities are monitored and prosecuted by special police forces named Sous Direction des Courses et des Jeux.
Basically, if you are 18 years old, you are allowed to play and wager on basically anything you want in France, and the sky’s the limit for you.
Online Gambling
Now here is the moment when it all becomes a giant paradox. For a long time, online gambling was highly controlled and restricted by the government. In 2001 PMU and FDJ acquired licenses to provide services online.
However, all of this was brought down to regulation of horse racing and sports. Online casinos were banned. Video poker, slots games or any other variant of gambling activity for real money online was labeled illegal.
This situation was further agitated when foreign online gambling sites intervened in French territory. The EU authorities claimed that the regulation of the industry violates the general provisions established for foreign online platforms, thereby pushing France to amend its existing laws.
In 2009 the government back tracked a little and adopted a bill, opening its market to more than 2500 websites, which did not cause any problems for public order and were recognized as legitimate. Nevertheless, their activity was narrowed down to betting strictly on sports and horse racing.
The blowback that followed this concession forced the French government to adopt the 2010 French Gambling Act. From that moment on, online poker and bingo became legal.
Still, the entire situation is not as simple as it seems upon first glance. Real money online casinos are forbidden, as they are recognized as being too addictive. This includes slots, roulette and blackjack.
Now France has a Regulatory Authority for Online Games, which functions as a gaming commission. This regulatory body is responsible for granting licenses to foreign gambling operators, while also publishing a list of the companies that are allowed to operate under the online gambling law.
Unfortunately, the industry is highly taxed, and it is incredibly difficult for small sites to succeed in France.
Additionally, online gamblers grew increasingly frustrated when foreign operators could not run any kind of casino at all, while French user accounts also ended up being blocked. Many poker players received a message that the sites where they played were banned, and some of them were transferred to the sites of other companies like PartyPoker, which they were allowed to play.
Of course, there are several methods players can use to bypass these strict laws, such as changing and hiding their IP address or by using UK accounts, which is actually a fairly common practice in France.
Last but not least, social gambling is completely legal in France. To be more precise, there are no regulations in this regard, as this kind of pastime is not considered to be supporting games of chance, nor to be an overly addictive activity.
Playing for virtual money or bonuses is something anyone can practice without any restrictions whatsoever.
Are There Gambling Casinos In Paris France History
Present and Future
Numbers show that this industry, with its $35 billion annual turnover, is not slowing down; and is expected to expand in the years ahead. Last year’s growth figures stopped at 2.2%, and there is no sign of any future drop on the way.
With an average age of 42, this nation of 64 million people has so many ways to progress in gambling in the coming years.
Sporting events such as the World Cup may help boost both offline and online gambling revenues. Soccer is considered to be the national sport, and when the 2010 World Cup coincided with the adoption of the Gambling Act, the online betting industry nabbed a hefty profit of €83 million.
The same applies to major events like Tour de France. Nevertheless, the leadership belongs to horse racing. The pari-mutuel system in France flourishes within more than 8,000 PMU kiosks and bars, which is where 80% of the bets are actually placed.
Online gambling in France strongly depends upon both legislation and the tax system. Around 47% of poker players are frustrated with the official online platform, preferring to use unlicensed websites instead.
So it seems the French government doesn’t see any reason to weaken its grip on online casinos at the moment. Apparently, due to the leading position of online horse racing income, online poker is not considered to be worth supporting.
Yet another reason why French officials ban online casinos is that they are trying to avert problem gambling. Nonetheless, the numbers state that there are 45% of active gamblers among French people, and only 1.3% of them have confessed they have a gambling problem.
To be real, these numbers are extremely low, and there is no evidence that allowing online casinos has the potential to negatively affect the current situation.
Is There A Casino In Paris France
Conclusion
The overall situation with gambling in France is not that complicated when it comes to land-based casinos; but if you do decide to find an internet casino to play, there might be some obstacles.
The best way to make some profit both online and offline is to go with sports betting, as French people are extremely fond of this. What is more, you won’t face any problems with the law or high taxes. This is pretty good, as after getting your winning pot, you certainly don’t want to get ripped off.
French authorities are evaluating the possibility of a legislative reform that would lead to the opening of a casino in Paris.
Only six months after the French Judicial Police raided and closed the world-famous Aviation Club de France and the Cercle Cadet, the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked the prefect Jean-Pierre Duport to prepare a study on the benefits and disadvantages of a casino in France's capital city.
According to France's daily Le Parisien, the study should be completed by the end of April, and should define whether gaming in Paris should be put in the hands of a casino, or should be handled by a network of 'cercles,' gaming rooms similar to the ones shut down during the past months.
France To Reform Its Gambling Legislation
Whether Duport's study will suggest the opening of Paris' first casino or the restoration of the cercles, it is safe to assume that gambling will be a hot topic in France in the months to come.
'The legal status of the cercle and the way some them conducted their operations have contributed to the emergence of various illegal practices and frauds,' an unnamed source told Le Parisien.
'The time of opacity is over,' the source continued. 'Today, the challenge of Duport's mission is to create a transparent and controlled offer of gambling games,' and this could be done by either creating a casino in Paris, or by reviewing the legislation imposed to the cercles.
From a legislative standpoint, however, both solutions will imply a significant activity from the legislator, as the launch of a casino in Paris would require a complete overhaul of the current legislation.
Back in 1907, the French government approved a bill that authorized the opening of brick-and-mortar casinos 'exclusively in thermal spa tourism destinations and beach resorts.' Almost a decade later, however, the same legislator decided to vote in favor of a stricter norm that banned 'gambling games within 100 kilometers of Paris.'
The law was amended some 20 years later, when the Barriére Group got the permission to operate a casino in Enghien-les-Bains, a spa destination located only 11 kilometers North of Paris. To date, the Barriére casino in Enghien-les-Bains claims to be the only one in the world that asks its visitors to pay a ticket in order to simply access the building.
Similarly, the restoration of the cercles would impose a number of legislative changes, as the country's authorities believe that the current legislation is not sufficient to guarantee the level of transparency desired.
€30 Million Business for the State
Although the one in Paris would become the 200th casino in the country, all the major players in the gambling industry have immediately understood how this could be a game changer for the entire sector.
After the closure of most cercles in Paris left the Cercle Clichy as the only gaming room operating in a city with 2.2 million inhabitants and almost 30 million tourists a year, the casinos in Enghien-les Bains and Deauville became the only choice for Parisians seeking for a place to play poker, table games, and slots.
'Once the police raided and closed the ACF and the Cadet, everyone moved to the Cercle Clichy in Montmartre, which has an authorization to operate for one more year,' PKR pro Patty Beaumier told PokerNews during the European Poker Tour played in Deauville in January.
'I used to play there also before all that happened, and I can tell you that we have never had as many players as we do now,' he added. 'These days, you can have even 50 people on the waiting list to sit at the room's cash games.'
Baumier also hinted at the possibility of a casino being in Paris' future, as she stated that 'rumors say that the ACF and the Cadet were closed because a big group may be trying to open a brick-and-mortar casino in Paris.'
If proven correct, however, the rumors mentioned by Beaumier would have a significant impact in Barriére's revenues, as the company that manages the casinos in Enghien-les-Bains and in Deauville would suddenly have to deal with a new competitor that a study quoted by the French media believe could generate tax revenues of €30 million for the State and the city of Paris.
This number, according to the daily Les Echos, is the reason why the city of Paris did not take an official position on the issue yet as the possibility to generate new revenues through the opening of a casino seems to have convinced the Socialist Major of Paris Anne Hidalgo not to oppose the project.
Should the administration vote against a casino in Paris, however, a new Las Vegas-style casino could be built in Roissy-en-France, the municipality located only 20.7 kilometers from the center of France's capital. According to an article published on PokerNews.fr, Roissy is currently evaluating the inclusion of a casino in a big development project that is set to create a brand new business and conference center right next to Paris' first international airport, Charles de Gaulle.
The project in Roissy, which the local administration hopes to see completed by 2018, that the complex to be built in the city should include offices for 13,000 square meters, commercial spaces for 10,000 square meters, a golf course, and a 45,000-square meter hotel, which would also feature a casino. Should the legislator decide to amend the law that prohibits the organization of gambling games close to Paris.
A strong opposition to the idea of a casino in Paris or in Roissy, however, came from Georges Tranchant, the founder of the Groupe Tranchant, a gambling group that manages 19 brick-and-mortar casinos in France, Switzerland, and Dominican Republic.
'The position of the operators is very simple,' Tranchant said. 'If we open a Las Vegas-style casino in Paris, we kill the industry.'
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