On the day it has been forced to switch off its customers in that region, Betfair has spoken of its criticism of France's new online gambling law, officially published May 12. Until the licences have been granted, accepting bets from France will be illegal.

Betfair has announced its intention to stop accepting bets from France and is considering whether or not to make an application for a licence to operate under the new regime. Not all of the requirements for such a licence have yet been published by the French authorities, and in Betfair’s opinion, there is little clarity on the way the market will operate.

Betfair welcomes the principle of member states moving from a monopoly model to a licensed regime, but has warned that the French law imposes restrictions on licensed operators which are both protectionist and go against the interests of French consumers.

Tim Phillips, director of European public affairs at Betfair, said: "We are looking very hard at the French market and how we might operate within the new licensed regime. Though it’s not impossible for a newcomer to create a commercially viable business, most projections show it will be very difficult to do so, given the proposed restrictions imposed on licence holders.

"French legislation will certainly benefit the incumbent players and the ultimate loser will be the French consumer. The new law does not adequately open the former monopoly’s market to true competition from other operators. We hope that the review, scheduled 18 months from now, will amend the law to address these flaws."