The French regulator ARJEL will have been disappointed this week to see that the draft of the new and much-hyped Digital Republic law did not include permission for the sharing of player pools with other like-minded jurisdictions.
High taxation and restricted player liquidity have continued to constrain the development of French online and mobile poker, and ARJEL chief Charles Coppolani has vigorously campaigned for the inclusion of international player sharing clauses in the new bill.
Despite undertakings from the Secretary for the Budget that the player liquidity issue would be addressed, it appears that the idea has again been discarded by the French administration.
The bill has some way to go before implementation; the government has committed to a public opinion and consultation phase before final debate and promulgation, scheduled for some time in 2016, and submissions will be considered until a rather tight deadline of October 18 this year.
The bill will also have to meet the approval of the Commission for Assessment and Control.