Paris Grants Permanent Legal Status to Gaming Clubs Under 2026 Budget
Paris’s private gaming clubs are poised to receive permanent legal recognition as part of France’s 2026 budget bill.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The measure, included in the government’s draft 2026 budget, would convert a pilot programme that has run since February 2017 into a lasting legal framework for Parisian gaming clubs. The Senate has already voted in favour, leaving only final approval of the budget law for the change to take effect. If enacted, the decision would end nearly a decade of temporary renewals and uncertainty for operators that have been operating under annual authorisations.
The scheme originally allowed venues to offer card-based games, principally poker, while explicitly excluding slot machines and the full range of table games found in casinos. The pilot was introduced to curb clandestine gambling and to allow authorities to monitor financial flows, player protections and broader social impacts before committing to a permanent regime. During that period, some clubs closed abruptly because of the recurring threat that the pilot would not be extended, a situation industry sources say deterred investment and disrupted employment.
In justifying its backing, the Senate described the pilot as having established “a legal and regulated alternative to clandestine gambling dens, while guaranteeing the transparency, traceability and integrity of financial transactions.” Senators added that the controlled framework had helped improve player safety in Paris and contributed to efforts to combat money laundering and fraud.
Responding to the Senate vote, Casinos de France, which represents the country’s land-based casino sector, welcomed the move as providing clarity for operators in the capital. “This long-awaited step finally provides a clear legal framework and visibility for a model that has largely proven its worth”, a spokesperson for Casinos de France said. “Parisian gaming clubs have demonstrated effectiveness as a legal, regulated and transparent alternative to previously unregulated venues, applying strict standards around oversight, integrity, prevention of excessive gambling and measures to combat money laundering.”
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Economic Contribution and What Comes Next
Parliamentary estimates compiled during deliberations put the clubs’ combined annual turnover at about €120 million, from which roughly €40 million is remitted to the French state and around €10 million to the City of Paris. Lawmakers noted the sector supported several hundred jobs directly and indirectly and found no evidence that the clubs distorted competition with traditional casinos.
For operators and employees, permanence will remove the operational risk that has shadowed the sector since the pilot’s inception. For regulators, it codifies a model that, according to Senate findings, improves financial traceability and strengthens the state’s ability to police illicit activity. Nevertheless, the change does not alter the substantive operational rules: card games will remain permitted while slot machines and full casino table offerings are still banned under the Paris model.
Not everyone sees the development as unambiguously positive. An independent gambling policy analyst said: “Formalising the model addresses a clear need to move activity out of the shadows, but it also requires continued vigilance. Regulators must ensure that licensing, audits and anti-money-laundering controls remain robust, and that measures to prevent problem gambling are adequately funded and enforced.”
Industry groups and municipalities now await the final text of the 2026 budget to confirm the legislative language. If the law is adopted without substantive amendment, operators will gain long-term legal certainty; if changes are introduced during the budget’s passage, further debate is likely in both the National Assembly and the Senate.
Beyond the immediate legal shift, the measure could shape future discussions about regulated alternatives to unlicensed gambling across France and in other European capitals watching Paris as a laboratory for urban gaming policy. For now, the prize for operators is predictability after years of provisional status, while regulators gain a formal framework they argue strengthens oversight and public protection.
Regulatory Monitoring and Next Steps
Industry observers say the real test will be sustained enforcement. Regular audits, clear reporting requirements and cooperation between municipal authorities and national financial intelligence units will determine whether the clubs remain a controlled, transparent option or drift back toward opaque practices. Parisian policymakers have signalled they intend to keep a tight rein: the forthcoming budget law reportedly retains the pilot’s key safeguards and codifies reporting channels for suspicious transactions, but the precise compliance regime will only be visible once the final text is published alongside the 2026 budget.
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