French gambling and advertising regulators working together on new measures
L’ Autorité Nationale des Jeux has begun a collaboration with France’s advertising authority.
France.- The French gambling regulator L’ Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has announced that it is working with the national advertising watchdog Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) to review regulations for gambling adverts.
The ANJ said it will work with the ARPP to analyse the current advertising practices of French gambling licensees ahead of major sporting events including the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games with a view to improve regulations.
It said the work would aim to make improvements in five areas: the clarification of each agency’s roles, sharing points of view, exchanging information, the creation of an annual observatory and regular collaboration.
While the ANJ has been approving gambling operators’ marketing campaigns, it says the ARPP will now be the first contact for operators before they distribute campaigns. The advertising authority will be able to consult with the ANJ to get its opinion on any material that it has concerns about.
When complaints are lodged with the Advertising Ethics Jury or when commercial communication is withdrawn, the two regulators will work together. They will also create an annual observatory that will share data on gambling industry advertising trends and will create and improve tools for operators, including the gambling module of the Certificate of Responsible Influence.
New rules for online gambling adverts
Last month, the French government proposed a series of new requirements for the inclusion of responsible gambling messages in online gambling adverts. A draft decree proposes the introduction of a mandatory warning message about excessive or pathological gambling.
Operators will need to include the message along with information about support available to help customers suffering from gambling-related harm, such as the Jouer service. Responsible gambling messages will have to be applied in black writing on a yellow background occupying at least 15 per cent of the space of online adverts and 7 per cent of cinema and poster ads.
