Operator News
France – National Assembly approves privatisation of FDJ but state will retain 20 per cent
By Phil - 23 October 2018
The National Assembly in France has approved the privatisation of the Française des Jeux.although the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, confirmed that the state would retain at least 20 per cent of the capital of the company.
The deputies adopted the move by 48 votes for and 12 against approving the bill PACT (Plan of action for the growth and the transformation of the companies), allowing for the privatisation of the FDJ.
Much of the debate, lasting more than three hours, focused on the need for a single regulator. In response to numerous amendments, notably from Régis Juanico (PS, Loire) and Charles de Courson (UDI, Marne) on the subject, Mr Le Maire explained that an independent authority covering the whole gambling sector was not possible because of the special nature of casinos and the risks of money laundering or terrorist financing to which they could be exposed.
He said : “On the question of casinos, I can see the debate that this raises (…) on the inclusion or not of casinos within the scope of this future independent authority. I see that on all the benches, from left to right raises questions. I just want to remind you that the risks are money laundering and terrorist financing opportunities. I propose that by 2020, we do a review of the work of this independent authority and consider the opportunity to include casinos in this single independent authority for the industry.
The possibility for the Française des Jeux to exploit online slot machines also occupied part of the debate. Daniel Fasquelle (The Republicans, Pas de Calais) has repeatedly asked the minister to explicitly state that they would be excluded.
Mr. Le Maire said: “Physical slot machines will be excluded from the monopoly of the FDJ, highlighting the difference is the rate of return to the players, 95 per cent for casino machines and 65 per cent for the FDJ’s games.
