French regulator: Reduction in excessive gambling is an “absolute priority”
ANJ states that while some progress has been made by licensed firms, more needs to be done to reduce excessive gambling spend in the market and protect minors
The French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has said excessive and underage gambling are two of the “most significant risks” in the market and has asked operators to step in to deal with the issues.
Providing an update into its overarching prevention methods, the ANJ said that while there had been “substantial progress” over the past four years, more needed to be done to protect consumers.
In terms of positives, the ANJ said operators had been able to promote player awareness of gambling-related harm, including personalised messaging and best practice information.
Other successes include no longer giving excessive gamblers promotions or bonuses, as well as general standards increasing across the board.
However, the ANJ said that excessive gamblers still make up too large a percentage of operators’ player bases.
Citing a study by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) , the ANJ noted there are around 1.8 million problem gamblers in France, with 360,000 of those gambling to an excessive level.
Problem gamblers also accounted for 38.3% of market GGR in 2019, with 20.7% of total GGR alone being sourced from those 360,000 players.
Therefore, the regulator has asked licensed firms to “identify more excessive gamblers in line with the size of their player pool and prevalence studies”.
The ANJ has also told FDJ United and PMU, France’s two retail monopoly holders, to improve standards in retail settings.
These include further training and monitoring for retail staff and developing a new sanction regime for shortcomings.
The ANJ said: “While highlighting the progress made by the sector, the ANJ reiterated that additional efforts must be made to achieve the objective of reducing the number of excessive gamblers by 2026, which must be an absolute priority for all stakeholders.
“In this regard, it addressed several recommendations to gaming operators, emphasising the importance of identifying and supporting excessive gamblers.”
Elsewhere, France’s market ombudsman has aligned its policy with the ANJ, stating that it had received correspondence from consumers relating to the prevention of their own excessive gambling.
The ombudsman also noted a cases of minors being able to play with licensed operators during the 30-day verification period when operators check provided documentation after a user sets up an account.
The ombudsman said: “In some cases, minors who have provided a false date of birth, or those banned from gambling who have slightly changed their first or last name, can play.
“They will be asked for supporting documents if they wish to make a withdrawal request. The temporary account therefore allows some players, wanting to circumvent a provision, to lose substantial sums, but not to win any.
“Operators must therefore be particularly vigilant regarding temporary accounts and must verify the supporting documents submitted as quickly as possible.
“It would also be advisable, when they have any doubts, particularly regarding a player who may be banned from gambling, to block the account while waiting for the supporting documents.”