France’s casino industry is already in a healthy condition, and now the country decides to expand the industry’s boundary adding a new territory into it. The internal Ministry is contemplating a proposal that might allow the geographical restrictions which are currently imposed on the land-based casinos to relax.
Jean-Luc Warsmann, the National Assembly legislator, has disclosed that the Ministry is pondering on giving casino access to a region with over 100,000 population. It would be a remarkable expansion for the country’s casino industry, considering the fact that casinos are currently allowed in spa towns, seaside resorts, or cities with a population of over 500,000.
Envisioned Casinos in Ardennes and Saumur
This proposal will directly favor Warsmann’s vision of having a casino in Sedan. He put a lot of time working with mayor Didier Herbillion to build a casino in the Ardennes for more than 15 years. While the city Sedan has a population of around 16,500, Ardennes has over 270,000 population and possesses all the qualifications.
Ardennes is a great location for other types of businesses as it lies just beside Belgium and serves as a regional connector. Wasmann has been planning on turning a 15th-century castle in that region into a modern casino since 2019 with a vision to make the area a tourism sport and attract tourists from all across the continent. In a statement, he said that there was no casino in their department despite a lot of Ardennias used to join casinos in Belgium. In addition, he insisted on defending the fiscal interest of France and tried to make the fact evident that a casino would play a lever of attention and attraction for that region.
What France needed then was a slight change in policy to benefit other regions. Warsmann even raised voice for another casino to be installed in Saumur, which was home to the Chateau de Saumur. The minister believed that he had the support of President Emmanuel Macron and expected those changes would be brought soon.
If things really go that way, it will happen in such a time when the Autorite Nationale des Jeux is attempting to bring change to the gambling laws of France.
