Poker Leaders And Winga Operators Leave France

The French legal online gaming jurisdiction is proving to be much harder to crack while more companies are finding it difficult to make a go of it. Looks like there are two more casualties including Poker Leaders, who was unable to launch after receiving its license earlier this year and Winga who also saw their license repealed by ARJEL.
There seems to be a trend now in the French marketplace as even some other similar sized operators have left in the last few months.
Even the big boys in the European industry have taken a look at what’s required and did an “about-face” considering the tax rates including: London-listed Willliam Hill, Sportingbet, Betfair and Ladbrokes.  They have all decided against entering the ring-fenced dot.fr market due to the huge entry costs and the margin impact of the high tax rates.
The ones who have decided to stay may be in for a rough ride before entering calm waters as companies like French operator BetClic Everest, Expekt and Bet-At-Home brands, announced a net loss of €90m in 2011 due mainly to the tax conditions.
This goes to show that even if a market is regulated, the cost of doing business there just might not make financial sense.