According to French regulators, the country needs to take action and bring more competition to the gambling industry by adding competitors and making it easier for them to establish themselves in the market. Currently the former monopolies are still controlling the market while other companies are struggling to compete.

France was one of ten countries rebuked by the European Union for having a monopoly that did not allow competition from overseas and private companies. In 2007, the EU notified France that it would be subject to a lawsuit if it didn’t change its gambling laws. Last year, they finally got around to liberalizing the market. The problem is that the market still needs a lot of improvement.

By most accounts, the regulations in France are a mess and are killing business. Stephane Courbit, chairman of BetClic, even said that France has the “worst online gambling laws in Europe.” And that’s after they liberalized the industry! Among the problems are high taxes, a low cap on payout rates, high fees for licensing and more. Because of that, the former monopolies, Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and La Francaise des Jeux, still control the market.

Today the French Competition Authority released a non-binding opinion stating that the licensing fees need to be lowered, because the expensive licenses are blocking new companies from entering the market. They also stated that competitors have had trouble getting pertinent information for their business, such as schedules and results for horse racing.

The Competition Authority said that while competition is emerging, the government needs to take steps “to avoid any competitive distortion between the former monopolies and the new entrants.” The Authority did not mention taxation or the low payout limit. Though it is the same for everyone in the French market, since the rates are worse than other European countries, it is keeping some countries from deciding to enter the market. The Competition Authority did, however, suggest that the former monopolies, which have a strong presence in bars and tobacco shops, separate their physical locations from their online activities.

One small consolation for people who have the unfortunate circumstance to live in France is that they now have another good option for online poker. Titan Poker has launched a new online poker room tailored to the French market.

Many online gambling operators are unhappy with the French government’s regulations, with a BetClic chairman even calling them the “worst online gambling laws in Europe.” Due to government rules that are both restrictive, high taxing and bad for the players (an 85% cap on rate of return), it’s difficult for gambling websites to make money in France. Despite that, Titan Poker is giving it the old college try.

France’s regulatory agency for internet gambling, ARJEL, recently awarded Titan Poker with a gambling license and certification. On the heels of that victory – and it is a victory, since it’s so hard to get licensed in France – the company launched a new dedicated website, Titan.fr.

Though the new online poker games are not yet available, those who visit the website are welcomed with a greeting that says “Decouvrez I’univers Titan.fr tres prochainement.” What, did you expect it to be in English? While I don’t know what that sentence or any of the 7 paragraphs that follow it say, I can take a wild guess. I believe the page can be paraphrased as saying “welcome to the new Titan Poker website, the most awesome poker website in France. Play poker with us. Please. It cost us a lot of money to get this license.”

Somewhere on that page it might say when the actual poker rooms will be operational, but I don’t know enough French (i.e. any French) to figure that out. It was only last month that Titan Poker received permission from France to operate in the country, so it may take some time.

Titan Poker is one of the largest and most respected online poker rooms in the business. They tout themselves as the third-largest poker website in the world, behind only PokerStars and PartyPoker.

On Tuesday, France opened up its online gambling market to foreign companies. Previously they banned online casinos from overseas and only allowed domestic casinos to get business from French customers. This, however, was in violation of European Union rules, which set up free trade agreements between EU member nations. After defying the rules, this week France gave in.

Operating an online casino in the French market isn’t easy, though. Their new online gambling laws are very strict and have rules for licensing that many call excessive and some even call “Draconian.” So far, approximately 35 online casino operators have applied for the licensed in France, with the French issuing 17 licenses to the 11 operators. The other 24 online casinos are still waiting for word from the French.

The new French online gambling legislation established a regulatory authority called the ARJEL, which is an acronym that makes sense in France. ARJEL can only give out 30 licenses and a separate license needs to be given for each type of gambling operation, which is why some online casino have more than one. With 17 of the 30 licenses already given out, there are only 13 still up for grabs.

There are a few big-name online gambling companies still waiting for licenses, such as Microgaming, PartyGaming and PokerStars. Other online gambling companies have pulled out of the French market entirely, meaning they will no longer accept bets from French customers. Some big names in that group include Betfair, Spin Palace and Ladbrokes. Those companies say that the rules and restrictions by the French government make it an unsuitable market for turning a profit.

Once the French decided to open the online gambling market, they hurried to get licenses handed out in time for the World Cup, which is the most popular sporting event in the world. Billions of dollars will be bet on the Cup over the next month, so the French want in on the money.

As the French government has set to legalize and regulate online gambling in the country, they have run into a few stumbling blocks. Provisions in their bill that would restrict online gambling to online casinos located in France have met resistance from the European Union. Other provisions were in violation of various European laws. France responded by doing what France does best: surrendering. France capitulated to the demands of the EU and removed the contested provisions.

The provision requiring online casinos to have fiscal correspondence within France was scrapped, much to the delight of overseas casinos and much to the chagrin of French government officials that love collecting taxes. There are still some provisions that are being challenged, such as limits on fund transfers and the question on whether or not sports betting will be legal.

Despite any conflicts with the EU, experts believe that a vote on online gambling will occur early next year and licenses for online casinos could be given out as early as May of 2010. It would be a sad day if France, which isn’t all that big on freedom, legalizes online gambling before the United States. If that happens, should we give them the Statue of Liberty back? After all, France isn’t in favor of freedom of speech and has laws about what you can name things. Yet they may allow their people the freedom to spend their money online however they want before America does. It’s a sad, sad day.