It has been confirmed that the French gambling market is about to be opened allowing EU-based companies to operate.

The French Budget Minister Eric Woerth, speaking to a French newspaper said the government is aiming for a “controlled opening” of the market by 2009 or 2010.

He went on to further say that future private gambling operators will be licensed under French regulations and subject to the same regulations that govern the current gambling monopoly Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU).

This is welcome news to the online bingo industry which has been denied access to the French market under the current regime.  Online bingo halls and online bingo operators can now look forward to building a market in what was once a closed industry.