ANJ reviews action plans to combat excessive gambling in France
Each operator was required to submit a report, and all but one of the casinos had their plans approved. The ANJ did not name the casino at this time.
Key points:
– The French Board of the National Gaming Authority has completed its review of action plans to combat excessive gambling
– The ‘prevention of excessive or pathological gambling and underage gambling’ plan was submitted by all of the operators in the country
– Each sector of the industry will have slightly different directives to achieve their goals
The Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), known as the French Board of the National Gaming Authority, has completed its review of the ‘prevention of excessive or pathological gambling and underage gambling’ action plans.
These were submitted by two gambling operators with exclusive rights, 16 approved online gaming operators, the 203 casinos and the 235 racetracks.
According to the ANJ, it’s estimated there were around 1.2 million problem gamblers in France, with 360,000 being classed as excessive gamblers.
Another recent study cited by the ANJ claims that in 2021, 34.8% of minors surveyed were gamblers and one-in-four children aged around nine years old had played a game of chance that year.
This review coincides with the annual ANJ 2024 gambling activity report, which details how many players approached the Board for help relating to gambling mediation.
In its 2024-2026 strategic plan, the ANJ has set as a central priority of regulation the drastic reduction in the number of excessive gamblers in the market.
The two exclusive rights holders, FDJ and PMU, have been told to become stricter with banning any sales to minors and strengthen the system for identifying and supporting excessive gamblers.
The further 16 operators have been asked to “identify more excessive gamblers in line with the size of their player pool and prevalence studies” and “demonstrate tangible and measurable results that can be verified by control operations”.
They are expected to focus on early detection and intervention for severe cases, as well as implement gaming limits for game offerings such as quick poker tournaments and live betting.
For the casinos, ANJ notes that this sector is improving nicely, and to support this, launched an e-learning system last November with examples of concrete solutions to detect difficulties and know how to respond to them appropriately.
Good to know: In 2019, it was believed that problem gamblers contributed a 38.3% share to the country’s gross gaming revenue, with 20.7% coming from excessive gamblers
Finally, the 235 racing societies have made “significant” efforts to inform new players, set up new training modules for volunteers and introduce control actions by the National Federation of Horse Racing.
As horseracing can be seen as a family event, ANJ has asked racecourses to distinguish the areas dedicated to betting and “ensure that the content of the activities offered to children does not constitute an indirect introduction to gambling.”
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