A few weeks ago, Bingo Supermarket had reported that some operators had chosen to leave the French online gaming market after new legislation was brought in that meant operators had to apply for new licenses and comply with complicated and lengthy legal processes with a more stringent regulations than they face in the UK.

888 have announced that all the gaming they operate in France including bingo and poker will cease on 11th July but they have announced they intend on re-entering the market whilst applying for operating licenses to allow them to trade. In correspondance to its media partners they announced  "888 has applied for a license in France. Because we plan to fully comply with the new regulation, we have decided to take immediate action"

It is expected that most major operators in France will not attempt to operate without the license and any group not adhering to the legislation could face prosecution.  Anyone wishing to gamble in France will only be able to use websites with French gaming licenses.  Legislation in the UK is much more liberal in the sense that it requires the sites to be registered in the UK or a white listed jurisdiction.

Due to the low tax bandings, many UK operators choose Alderney as the preferred jurisdiction, however the UK government are seeking ways to bring the UK companies on-shore with advertising levies expected to be the target for new taxation.