French gambling regulator demands more from operators ahead of a big summer for sport

The ANJ says more needs to be done ahead of Euro 2024 and the Paris 2024 Olympics.

France.- The French gambling regulator L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has reported generally positive findings from its review of operators’ action plans, but says more needs to be done. It said that “significant progress” had been made in reducing excessive and underage gambling.

The ANJ noted that operators had taken steps to raise awareness of the issues, with messages on dashboards and in direct messaging to players. It said that standards for the identification and support of problem gamblers had increased, with higher numbers of at-risk players being identified. The majority of operators were implementing more support measures and excluding players identified as being particularly vulnerable to rewards.

New ANJ recommendations

However, the ANJ said it believed that problem gambling was still too high and said operators needed to do more. It told operators to detect and intervene with vulnerable players as soon as possible and to diversify support measures, adapting them to the level of risk. It also told operators to undertake risk assessments on all offers before they are launched.

It also ordered lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) and racing betting operator Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) to improve controls at points of sale to prevent sales to minors during Euro 2024 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It said that casinos, gaming clubs and racing companies coordinated by the National Horse Racing Federation (FNCH) also need to improve their measures. It said the latter in particular demonstrated a lack of identification and support of problem gamblers.

Meanwhile, the ANJ has also ordered online gambling operators to revise their customer terms and conditions following a review. It has told operators to identify and remove illegal or ambiguous clauses, including those that unfairly limit operator liability or restrict customers’ right to compensation.

The regulator said it had carried out a review after France’s online gambling ombudsman, Mediateur des Jeux en Ligne, received a number of complaints from players about the validity of clauses in the terms they were asked to agree to.