French online gaming association AFJEL reelects Nicolas Béraud as president
The founder and CEO of Betclic has been unanimously reelected for a second term.
France.- Nicolas Béraud, founder and CEO of Betclic, will serve a second term as president of the French online gaming association AFJEL. He has been unanimously re-elected to the position.
Meanwhile, Winamax founder and president Alexandre Roos has been elected as vice-president following the online poker operator’s recent incorporation into the organisation. Winamax’s membership means that AFJEL now represents all licensed French online gambling operators, while Roos’s election as vice president is seen as a move to expand representation to cover all online gambling verticals.
AFJEL sees 2025 as an important year for French online gambling. New French gambling tax rates will come into force in July, raising the rate on online sports betting from 10.5 to 15 per cent. The rate for online poker will be 10 per cent. The newly rebranded FDJ United has forecast a €50m hit to EBITDA this year, while Betclic expects a €20m impact.
AFJEL says it will continue to promote legal, ethical, and responsible online gaming and will press for measures against illegal gambling. It says members will also cooperate to promote fair competition, strengthen player protection and adopt high standards. The French government had planned to introduce regulated online casino gaming in 2025. Working groups began analysing the topic in November, but plans have been held back by opposition from land-based casino operators.
Béraud said: “I am honoured to be able to continue to speak for our members at such an important time for our industry. Now strengthened by the arrival of Winamax, AFJEL is the only professional association to represent online gaming tech companies. Its members are essential strategic partners in protecting players, fighting cybercrime and the scourge of the illegal market, and securing the digital space with demanding technological standards.”
Roos said: “I am very happy and honoured to have been elected Vice-President of AFJEL in order to support the actions of members to lay the foundations of a favourable framework for gaming tech companies, which are very strategic for the sector’s evolution.”
Last year, AFJEL warned that unlicensed betting led its members to take around half of the handle that had been estimated for Euro 2024. It warned that illegal gambling had reached the point that there were now more people using unlicensed operators than licensed ones and that betting volumes on the regulated market were down 25 per cent compared to the 2022 World Cup and flat compared with Euro 2020.
