French looking to tighten ban on online gambling

The United States might have made the biggest splash when it jumped in to try to ban online gambling, but it's not the only country trying to keep Internet casinos, poker and sports betting at bay. The French National Assembly also has legislation in the works to further prevent online gambling in France.

The anti-gambling legislation is part of France's "delinquency prevention" measure they're trying to put in place after the 2005 riots. One of the amendments targets financial tools that online gamblers use. It is similar to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed in the United States that targets banks and doesn't allow them to transfer funds to and from gambling sites.

That first amendment, Amendment 254, takes it another step further by possibly preventing banks from making transfers to and from known gamblers themselves. The purpose of the law will be to freeze asset flow to online gambling which is prohibited in French law.

The second amendment dealing with online gambling, Amendment 255, looks to restrict information providers on the Internet in order to cut down on online gambling. If the amendment is passed, internet providers, or any web portal or site with a French presence, will be required to inform Web surfers that they are going to a site the French government doesn't approve of, and they will have to warn people of the risk of playing in the unlawful Internet gambling sites.

The next vote on the issue is scheduled to take place Dec. 5, and French poker players are already starting defensive measures to prevent them from being lumped into a bill that would label them as delinquents. According to L'Express, nearly 600 poker players have already signed the petition against the amendments.

courtesy of Sarah Polson

News Added: 28 November, 2006

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