French gambling regulator demands annual responsibility action plans
France’s l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux has told all licensed operators they must submit annual action plans detailing responsible gambling controls.
France.- The French gaming regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has introduced a new requirement as part of operators’ licensing duties.
Operators must now submit annual action plans outlining their responsible gambling measures. The plans will be studied by the ANJ’s policy team as the regulator seeks to establish a “constant dialogue” with operators in order to improve market protections.
The action plans must include a “dashboard overview” of performance on safer gambling metrics, including an overview of interventions with vulnerable players and the blocking of minors. They must also detail how the operator intends to prevent minors from accessing websites, social media accounts and advertising campaigns.
They must also show a “clear pathway” for parental control software, underage warnings and measures to enhance ID verification and must show how operators have set up their identification systems in order to identify excessive gambling as rapidly as possible. Operators must also show how employees have been trained to identify potential problem gambling.
The action plans must use a definition from Canada’s ICJE index on excessive gambling to identify and report on at-risk customers. The ANJ will use best practice identified from the action plans to inform new guidelines to be published mid-year.
The regulator said it wanted to create a ‘culture of results’ with operators motivated by the aim to protect minors and vulnerable players.
In 2021, the ANJ launched a number of new measures with France’s Ministry of Health and the National Union of Family Associations in a bid to tackle the issue of problem gambling in France. It made changes to its player protection strategies last April.
