Gambling in France has a rich history, and many games we know today, at least in one of their forms, have been invented in the country. Most notably, the Roulette wheel was invented in the 17th century by Blaise Pascal, a prominent French mathematician at the time.
Even to this day, Roulette is separated in 3 variants: French, American and European. France is also the origin country of Parimutuel betting, which was said to be invented in the late 18th century. During the 18th century, it is also said that Blackjack made its origins in France, under the name of “chemin de fer”.
The country has always held a more lenient approach towards gambling in terms of legislation, with gambling having a legal status ever since the late 20th century
In 1987, the minimum gambling age was lowered to 18 from 21. The year after, slot machines were made legal in the country. Land casinos are fully legal in France, and can be found in great volume widespread across the country’s territory.
Some of the most popular land casinos are the Casino Le Lyon Vert, the Casino Deauville and the Casino Barriere Enghien-Les-Bains. These bricks and mortar establishments are host to a myriad of Table Games, and hundreds of Slot Machines. Moreover, they are paired with luxury hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
Gambling nowadays in France
Currently, online casinos can be licensed and operate legally within France. The only condition is that they follow all the regulations, including not providing any banned games.
There are also numerous land-based casinos operating legally in France. The result of all that is an increased number of punters over the last two decades. The number of people who regularly gamble actively in the country is currently at an all-time high.
The French government does not necessarily sit back and let gambling grow uncontrollably. There are numerous measures set in place to control the gambling providers and protect the punters.
Among the steps taken include high taxes, strict requirements, and unfavorable payout rates. All those measures are in addition to the limited scope of gambling services.
The result is that most players resort to playing at top online casinos where the terms and payouts are favorable. Doing so is not particularly legal, but there is also nothing in French law that makes it illegal.
Future of online casinos in France
The financial benefits that the French government enjoys from all the gambling operations in the country make it more likely that the industry will continue to grow in the future. The government's move to ban only addictive casino games instead of all gambling types also indicates a bright gambling future.
The number of international casinos accepting French punters has also been increasing quite rapidly. The competition among the online casinos registered in the country is also fierce. The combination of all that means the punters will have many more options to choose from, ensuring that they get more satisfaction.
Mobile casinos will also become more and more popular in this country. Most of the population has access to mobile phones, and the casino operators are constantly optimizing their products to match demand. Check out our full list of top mobile casino French.
Experts suggest that the government will also likely amend the gambling registration to favor the gambling industry, though that seems quite far from happening.
Casino types
