The fate of France's gambling industry lies in the hands of....

Who? The French Government, that's who! Gambling in France has been restricted to Groupe Francaise des Jeux, which runs the state lottery, and Pari Mutuel Urbain, which offers gambling on horse racing for many years. All other forms of online gambling are illegal. However, for the first time, France might just relax its betting rules, and allow UK and other overseas betting companies to legally operated Sportsbetting and Poker firms there.

If you know anything about the current gambling situation in France, you're probably wondering how the heck this happened. Well, the French Government realized that the number of illegal betting sites accessible to the French has increased rapidly over the past few years. Further, the European Commission has been pressuring France to review and reform its gambling markets. Paddy Power is hopeful that the French Government seriously considers this action because of the "massive potential" value to other online gambling organizations.

Given the previous years of the French government's stand on online gambling, the chances don't look promising, especially considering that the bill is just the first step in a long political process, but let's see how this unfolds. We'll be sure to keep you posted!