Chapter III: Obligations relating to the fight against prohibited lotteries, games and betting

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Article L563-2

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of the Interior may decide to prohibit, for a renewable period of six months, any movement or transfer of funds to or from accounts identified as being held by natural or legal persons who organise gambling prohibited by Article L. 320-1 of the Internal Security Code or betting prohibited by the Act of 2 June 1891 regulating the authorisation and operation of horse races.

The Ministers shall lift the prohibition referred to in the first paragraph at the request of the persons concerned if the movements or transfers of funds are carried out in the context of transactions that are not prohibited on French territory.

Ministerial decisions taken pursuant to this article shall be published in the Journal officiel.

The National Gaming Authority may send to online gambling or betting operators not authorised by virtue of an exclusive right or the authorisation referred to inArticle 21 of Act no. 2010-476 of 12 May 2010 relating to the opening up to competition and the regulation of the online gambling and games of chance sector and to any person offering any online gambling and games of chance in contravention of the provisions of Title II of Book III of the Internal Security Code, by any means capable of establishing the date of dispatch, a formal notice recalling the penalties incurred and the provisions of the following paragraph, enjoining these operators to comply with this prohibition and inviting them to submit their observations within a period of eight days.

At the end of this period, if the operator concerned fails to comply with the injunction to cease its unlawful activity of offering bets or games of money and chance, the Minister responsible for the budget may, on a proposal from the National Gaming Authority, decide to prohibit for a renewable period of six months any movement or transfer of funds to or from accounts identified as being held by these operators.

The Minister responsible for the budget shall lift the ban referred to in the previous paragraph at the request of the persons concerned if the movements or transfers of funds are carried out in the context of transactions that are not prohibited on French territory.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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