Breaking news

France Is Considering Legalizing Online Casinos

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 24, 2024

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).

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

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

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Limassol-Based Stylino Launches Cyprus’s First Fashion Price Comparison Engine, Aggregating 385K+ Products From 65 Retailers

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

April 20, 2026

Stylino has launched as Cyprus’s first dedicated fashion price comparison platform, aggregating over 385,000 products from 65 online retailers across Cyprus, Greece and Europe. Built and operated by a single founder based in Limassol, the platform processes product feeds from dozens of retailers in real time, enabling consumers to compare prices on clothing, footwear and accessories across the entire market in one search.

The Market Gap

While mature European markets have established comparison platforms — PriceRunner in Scandinavia, idealo in Germany, Kelkoo in France — Cyprus had no equivalent for fashion. The market is fragmented across dozens of online retailers, from large international chains to independent local e-commerce stores, each operating in isolation with no unified search or price comparison capability for consumers.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“The same product can have a 30% price difference across stores operating in Cyprus. That inefficiency is the opportunity. We built an automated pipeline that normalises product data from 65 different feed formats into a single searchable catalogue. Using advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, we can accurately match and deduplicate products across different retailers,”

says Aris Ioannou, founder of Stylino.

How It Works

Stylino ingests product feeds from 65 retailers through a combination of network APIs and direct data partnerships. An automated processing pipeline normalises product attributes — titles, categories, sizes, colours, prices — across disparate feed formats, deduplicates entries, and indexes them into a searchable catalogue covering 3,350+ brands. The consumer-facing platform, built using state-of-the-art technologies and artificial intelligence, serves bilingual (English/Greek) results with sub-second response times.

The platform covers categories including women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, footwear, bags and accessories, with dedicated sale tracking and brand-level browsing.

Traction and Roadmap

Since launch, Stylino has indexed over 385,000 products from 65 retailers and 3,350+ brands, with the catalogue growing weekly as new retailer integrations come online. The platform is already gaining traction among Cypriot consumers and establishing partnerships with major retailers across the region.

Near-term plans include price alert notifications, personalised recommendations based on browsing behaviour, and expansion of the retailer network. The underlying data infrastructure is designed to scale to additional verticals and geographies.

“Cyprus is a small market, but that’s what makes it a good proving ground. If you can build comprehensive coverage in a fragmented market with limited data standardisation, the same approach works anywhere”.

adds Aris.