Médiateur des Jeux, or the Gaming Ombudsman, settles disputes between players and operators. Last year, it received more than 1,700 requests for mediation.
Of these, most concerned sports betting, which constituted over 90% of all requests. Broken down even further, 28% concerned the result of wagers, 23% the cancellation of bets and 11% welcome offers.
“These requests relate overwhelmingly to difficulties encountered by sports betting players concerning results or cancellations of bets and welcome commercial offers,” stated the ANJ.
Moreover, 957, or approximately 55% of all requests were closed, within an average period of 57 days. This equates to roughly how many requests were deemed admissible.
In his role as Online Gaming Mediator, Denys Millet is responsible for “reconciling points of view to pave the way for an amicable solution.” However, unlike a court’s ruling, the mediator’s proposal is not legally binding.
To make a request for mediation, players must first contact the operator in writing. Depending on its response, or after 20 days without hearing back, they may reach out to the service.
Of those requests deemed inadmissible, 90% were counted as such due to the absence of a prior written complaint to the operator. This was the service’s primary recommendation to players, while operators were encouraged to “change certain practices.”
It made three recommendations to operators. These concerned “the processing of complaints from players,” “the readability of welcome offers” and “the writing of the descriptions of the bets.”
