France recently initiated regulatory reforms, and now even its MPs are playing poker
While the debate continues in Europe about how far online gambling reforms must go, some French politicians have taken to showing their support for gambling by actually playing online poker in the legislature.
Poker-playing MPs
Photographers from the Assembly's press balcony recently snapped photos of ministers using their mobile devices and tables for various activities, including playing online poker, reading cartoons, browsing clothing catalogues and ordering wine, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.
Although these French MPs were unaware they were being watched, the fact that they would use their free access to parliamentary wireless Internet to connect to online poker and related sites instead of using it to watch boring debates shows that even politicians are human - and therefore interested in online gambling.
State of Play
French politicians are at least somewhat willing to preach what they so obviously practice, having begun the year with a series of reforms that would enable local online poker players to access gambling and poker sites that are licensed by the national gambling authority.
However, the measures taken by the French government against online gambling providers that operate without licenses are seen by some as in violation of European law. As is the case with a number of European countries, the debate over national control of gambling is yet to be settled.
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