France Slams Zeturf Ad

Tuesday 13 October, 2009 09:32

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While France is in the process of gambling reform, and will probably pass far reaching legislation by the end of the year, the government is not forgetting to re-affirm that ban against gambling ads that is still very much in place at the moment.

The Malta based online betting group, Zeturf, raised the ire of the French Budget Minister, Eric Woerth after the company ran a full page ad in the free daily publication, Metro on Friday.

Woerth waved away Zeturf's claim that the campaign was simply a press release and said that it was "advertising in disguise."

The publication ran a full page of information focused on the 88th Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe horse race.

What got Woerth's attention was the fact that Zeturf pointed out its better odds on horse racing compared to state monopoly group, PMU.

Zeturf's audacious move is yet another attempt by online gambling groups to push the French government to finally change the laws of the country in a process that, according to the industry, has taken far to long.

Woerth, however, continued to reiterate that as long as the current laws are in place, it views any breach as a serious offence and hinted that when it came to eventual license implementation when reforms came about, the French government has a long memory .

The question is whether the government will be able to deny Zeturf a license in a regulated market on the basis of an advertising campaign run so close to reforms taking place.

A number of online gambling providers have signed deals with French sports teams in the hope of getting their names to become household brands ahead of regulation, a move that has also been stopped by the French government.

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