Land based casinos in France are facing quite serious financial difficulties according to the casinos. The measures that have been imposed such as an ID check on entry to a casino in 2006, the smoking in public places ban, the legalisation of online cash games in 2010 ( poker, sports betting and horse racing) and the ongoing recession have caused them great harm.

For some real casinos, the situation is so critical that they fear they may be forced to close down. To avoid this extreme, the directors of these casinos are increasing their efforts to become attractive again and to stand out from their competitors. So, major investments have been made in the area of gaming and in associated activities. Casinos have succeeded in attracting clientele by offering entertainment, dancing, shows… by opening restaurants…In this way they have been able to limit the damage and for some of them even increase the number of visitors and to raise income.

However the main activity for casinos is gaming especially slot machines which have met with success that hasn’t diminished over the years. Players come to relax at slot machines while trying to win huge jackpots especially since multi-site jackpots have made their appearance. The linking of many slot machines in several French casinos allow the player to win a communal jackpot which grows depending on the bets placed. Even if one armed bandits remain the favourite games, casino management is increasing its efforts to invest in so called new generation machines to entice players. The Santeney casino has just acquired 23 new machines which offer very innovative games but which, due to the recession, are aimed at less wealthy clients. The bets are from one cent and this will allow the casino to attract a wider clientele. The casino director, Arnaud Jalaber, is sure that this major investment of 300 000 euros will bring good results. None the less he doesn’t want to cut back in the area of table games which attract a larger clientele, thanks in particular to poker.