online sports betting news

Trouble appears to be brewing over the potentially ground-breaking reformation of the French gambling laws if reports from Paris are anything to go by. The bill was due before the Senat this week but its format has already been heavily criticised by the Remote Gambling Association which claims it discriminates against private sector operators, particularly in the field of sports betting. The bill has already been approved by the Assemblee Nationale and French legislators were confident of a clear run this week. But the RGA doesn’t think the French government are doing enough to safeguard the interests of online betting operators from other countries in the European Union, who have long being trying to grab a slice of the action so far monopolised by the Paris-Mutuel. Approximately three million French gamblers have accounts based overseas but their government’s promise to open up the market to overseas competition is still yet to materialise and draft proposals to change the law clearly haven’t gone far enough in many people’s eyes.

Ladbrokes would be one of those with an active interest in proceedings in Paris but in the meantime the West London-based have relaunched their online sportsbook, on which they plan to screen live streaming of more than 25,000 sporting events in 2010. Registered Ladbrokes clients will be allowed to view the service, set to include Wimbledon and the Australian T20 League for the first time, free of charge but punters wishing to watch horse racing live will have to stake at least a pound if they wish to see the action as it happens. The relaunched site will also allow in-play betting, which accounted for a much larger percentage of the firm’s turnover last year. William Hill, meanwhile, have finally confirmed that their Spanish experiment has come to an end. As we reported last year, they have sold their half-share in Victoria Apuestas to local partners Codere – my mole tells me new resources are now being diverted towards their flourishing joint venture with Playtech, who are very much the flavour of the month at William Hill HQ!