More Calls For Lower French Gambling Tax

More and more calls are being made for the French government to lower its online gambling tax, which many see as a barrier for legitimate gambling companies wishing to enter the market.

Currently the tax rate is 8.5% on turnover instead of Gross Gambling Revenue, which reportedly makes it more difficult for casino operators to make a profit. Large gambling operators such as Ladbrokes, William Hill, Betfair, and Sportingbet have voiced their opposition to this high tax rate.

ARJEL, the French national gambling regulator has submitted a proposal to the French government that includes 65 ways online gambling could be improved. One of those suggestions is that taxation be switched from turnover to the popular Gross Gaming Revenue model. In the proposal, different types of gambling would be taxed differently, with poker being taxed at 25%, 38% for sports betting, and 55% for horse racing.

The ARJEL proposal is vastly different from other proposals put out by French politicians, with Union pour un Mouvement Populaire Deputy Jean-François Lamour submitting a 20% flat online gaming rate. He also recommended a RTP rate of no lower than 90%.

ARJEL Chief Jean-François Vilotte has said that some modifications to online gambling regulation may be achieved by the end of the year, but Minister of Budget Baroin has gone on the record saying that no new tax reforms will be introduced before the 2012 presidential elections.