New French gambling regulator launches

The L’Autorité nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has been officially launched as the new regulator for all forms of gambling in France.

France.- L’Autorité nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has held its first official meeting signalling its launch as the country’s new single gambling regulator.

For the first time, France has a single body responsible for overseeing all forms of gambling, including iGaming, casinos, sports betting and lottery.

The new body replaces L’Autorité Nationale de Régulation des Jeux en Ligne (ARJEL), which was only responsible for the online gambling market. Land-based gaming had until now been regulated by the Ministry of the Interior. 

This means that as well as overseeing France’s 14 licensed online gambling operators, ANJ will also oversee the country’s 202 land-based casinos, all Française des Jeux (FDJ) lottery and betting games, Pari-Mutuel Urbain’s retail betting shops and on-course bookmakers.

Only responsibility for anti-money laundering and integrity will remain with the Ministry of the Interior.

It will have more power than ARJEL, with the authority to carry out on-site inspections of casinos and other gambling operations and to order operators to remove any advertising it deems inappropriate.

It will be responsible for licensing operators and the games they offer, and controlling promotional strategies.

ANJ has said it aims to focus on four core areas: the prevention of problem gambling and protection of children and young adults, the assurance of integrity, reliability and transparency in gambling, prevention of fraud and other criminal activities; and ensuring fair and balanced development of games.

It has said problem gambling is a particular area it wants to focus on, and that it will be looking to track player activity to be able to identify unhealthy behaviour.

There will be a new process of registration for France’s self-exclusion register, which ANJ will take over from the Ministry of the Interior as of September.

The body is to draw up strategies on the prevention of gambling addiction and protection of minors and for fighting fraud, which it will then put out for consultation.

ANJ President, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, said: “The ANJ is not an enlarged ARJEL, it is a new project that requires rethinking regulation. It has to adapt its interventions to monopolies and to players gambling mostly anonymously in points of sale.

“I would like to set up a regulation that combines support and control in order to better serve and protect players.”