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France Is Considering Legalizing Online Casinos

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

62%. This is public support for the French authorities’ intentions to legalize online casinos, according to a survey by the French Association of Online Games (AFJEL). Very soon, such legal amendments may become a fact, writes the French publication Le Figaro. 

Online casinos in France are prohibited by law. Along with Cyprus, it is the only country in the EU that completely bans online casino games. French authorities only allow sports betting, horse racing, and poker online. The online lottery is also legal in France, although there is only one operator – La Française des Jeux (FDJ).

However, in 2023, illegal online casinos operating in France generated an impressive 750 million euros in turnover, a sign that legal restrictions are in no way preventing these businesses from thriving from the comfort of tax havens, in which are registered.

Now the government is proposing changes as part of the draft budget for 2025, which would make the activity of online casinos subject to control. The texts were presented over the weekend and considered by French MPs on Monday. If the changes are finally adopted, virtual casino games will be taxed at 55.6% of their turnover.

The government claims that legalizing online casinos will help tackle the presence of illegal sites that often operate from tax havens. This could contribute to limiting the risk to public health,

However, the proposed amendments are not being taken lightly by casino owners, who have come out strongly against the amendment, which will expose their establishments to unwanted competition. 

“According to our calculations, the opening of online casinos to competition will lead to a drop in gross gambling revenue of land-based casinos by around 20 to 30% and the closure of 30% of establishments,” said Gregory Rabuel, president of the Casinos de France union. to the French media Les Echos.

THE BUDGETARY POLICY OF FRANCE

Last year, France’s government deficit reached 5.5% of the country’s GDP, significantly exceeding forecasts and breaching the EU’s target of 3%. Late last month, new budget minister Laurent Saint-Martin revealed that this year’s deficit could exceed 6%.

While the government hopes to rein in spending, it is also looking for ways to raise revenue. Part of the country’s current financial problems are related to reduced tax revenues. This is partly because economic growth has recently been driven by exports rather than domestic consumption, resulting in lower VAT revenues.

A review of the revenue side of the 2025 state budget, which calls for 60 billion in new tax revenue, began on Monday, kicking off the most important few weeks of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s tenure, whose government enjoys fragile support.

In his opening speech, Economy Minister Antoine Armand advocated a budget that would allow the public deficit to be reduced to 5% of GDP in 2025, rejecting any “austerity” while predicting a 0.4% increase in public spending

Relativity Networks Raises $22 Million To Make Data Centers Faster

by News Editor

Data center developers are expected to invest as much as $4 trillion by the end of the decade, but finding enough power and suitable locations is becoming increasingly difficult. Relativity Networks is betting that faster fiber could help data centers overcome some of those geographic constraints.

The company announced $22 million in SAFE note funding from Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures and Faster Than Glass, among others. It also secured a $40 million follow-on order from an unnamed hyperscaler.

Hollow-Core Fiber Cuts Latency

Relativity Networks develops hollow-core fiber, which can transmit data 50% faster than conventional fiber. Instead of sending light through glass, the technology uses a hollow center containing air or a near-vacuum, allowing signals to travel closer to the speed of light.

For a signal traveling one kilometer, CEO Jason Eichenholz estimates that conventional fiber takes about five microseconds. Hollow-core fiber can reduce that to roughly 3.5 microseconds.

Connecting Data Centers Across Greater Distances

As AI systems grow, computing resources are increasingly spread across large campuses and multiple facilities. That makes network latency more important, particularly when separate data centers need to function as a single synchronized system.

Eichenholz sees an opportunity to connect existing facilities across multiple campuses, allowing companies to locate computing infrastructure closer to available power without sacrificing as much performance.

A 50% reduction in latency could effectively allow compute facilities to be separated by greater distances while maintaining similar networking performance.

From Compute To Geography

Eichenholz describes the evolution of AI infrastructure in three stages: first optimizing computing power, then improving networking within data centers, and now optimizing where computing infrastructure is physically located.

For Relativity Networks, faster fiber could therefore become an important piece of the next phase of AI infrastructure expansion.

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