They denounce a “gigantic market anomaly”.
Considering themselves penalized by the Française des jeux (FDJ), the casinos requested the services of the Prime Minister who promised them a “soon meeting”, Fabrice Paire, chairman of the board of the Partouche group, said on Tuesday.
“The problem has been brewing for too long.
We believed that the privatization of the FDJ would make it possible to get out of this system where the group works on the balance of the (gaming) sectors but this is not the case,” he lamented on the occasion of the publication of Partouche’s results.
“A line was crossed with the takeover of Zeturf, which catalyzed the annoyance.
And with the announcement of the takeover of Kindred (Unibet), there will be a competition problem.
“It’s a gigantic market anomaly,” he said.
“Major distortions of competition”
The managers of the Barrière group, Joa, Partouche, the Tranchant casinos, the Casinos de France union and the Association of French Independent Casinos are among the signatories of the letter sent in mid-January to Gabriel Attal to report this “worrying” situation. ".
“We were received by the Prime Minister's office on another subject last week and we were told that an upcoming meeting would be given to us to get to the heart of the matter,” says Paire.
“We are going to spend a lot of energy and resources this year to make our voice heard,” he continued.
In addition to what they describe as "major distortions of competition", the casino operators are concerned in their letter about "recent information reporting a possible plan to open online casinos on the French market reserved for a new monopoly of the FDJ”.
They believe that “casinos are today in the best position to manage such an activity because they unfailingly guarantee the ban on gambling for minors and, more generally, effectively protect players against the risk of addiction”.
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Professionals in the sector also mention several avenues to support the sector: “updating tax scales according to inflation”, “harmonization of the various constraints between sectors (entry controls, gambling bans, taxation, etc.)” and “fighting against illegal supply.
On this last point, the National Gaming Authority (ANJ) warned Tuesday against “unauthorized online casino sites which usurp French casino brands on Facebook,” according to a press release.
Online casino-type gambling games (baccarat, roulette, blackjack, slot machines, etc.) are currently prohibited in France.
According to the ANJ, however, the illegal offer represents between 5 and 10% of the gambling market.