In early June of 2007, government officials in the country of France successfully outlawed all forms of online gambling within the country (other than those games offered by their own state-run agency). While the government essentially holds a complete monopoly on all online gambling within the country, the European Union is seeking immediate action against the government of France to open up their online gambling markets to the other nations in the European Union.

If this is done, then most international poker sites will lift their current bans on any French online poker players attempting to register with their sites.

A little over a year ago, the French government attempted to enact a law that would force all French institutions from processing payments to online gambling sites operating outside of the country. This law was a direct attempt to curb the amount of French citizens playing online poker and other games on gambling sites outside of France. While the law has significantly decreased the amount of deposits made from French bank accounts to outside online poker accounts, it has done little to actually curb the amount of French online poker players playing outside of the jurisdiction of France.

France Online Poker Sites

Although the French government has effectively banned all French citizens from playing for real money on foreign online gambling sites, there have been no cases reported of anyone actually being charged with the crime. Thousands of French citizens continue to enjoy the game of online poker and continue to play on their favorite international french poker sites. However, since the passing of this ban on foreign online poker providers, funding a real money online poker account has become very difficult for French citizens.

France Poker Deposit Options

Since French banks are now forbidden from processing any transactions from French citizens to foreign online gambling providers, French citizens will not be able to make online poker deposits directly from their bank accounts. However, by using an e-wallet service such as Neteller, French citizens can link their bank account or credit card to an online third party account. Then they can use that account to make deposits to an online gambling site.

Using a service such as Neteller is cheap and easy.  Most France online poker sites charge no transaction fee for deposits made by Neteller and the service generally charges a very small commission on each deposit. But that charge, certainly, is not enough of a cost to outweigh the benefits of the service.

To use Neteller for an online poker deposit, you will first need to provide your bank account information or credit card number to your Neteller account. After this information is verified, you will never have to enter private account information again. However, players should be aware that the verification process for a bank account can take up to 4-5 days for completion.

Most banks will allow transfers to Neteller because the account could be used for any variety of online merchants and retailers. Therefore, there is a very small likelihood that your transaction will be denied by your bank. Once you have your bank account or credit card linked to your Neteller account and the verification process is complete, you will be able to make instant transfers to an online gambling provider. Neteller is the world's most famous e-wallet service and is accepted by most major online poker sites.