FRANCE: Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, ANJ's 'L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux' strategy to keep pace with new forms of gaming and its key priorities'

The chairwoman of L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux spoke to Focus Gaming News about the regulator’s strategy to keep pace with new forms of gaming and its key priorities.

France.- Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, chairwoman of l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), gave an exclusive interview to Focus Gaming News in which she revealed the French regulator’s next steps and how it is focusing its efforts on preserving the transparency and integrity of the sector, with the fight against illegal gambling at the forefront. The ANJ’s roadmap also focuses on protecting minors and reducing excessive gambling.

The ANJ recently instructed FDJ United and PMU to strengthen their harm reduction strategies. Could you elaborate on what specific measures the ANJ expects from these operators?

Concerning the two monopolies actors FDJ and PMU, i.e. almost 2/3 of the French gambling market, the ANJ has approved their action plans Prevention of Excessive Gambling and Underage Gambling, but has instructed them to step up their action in two key areas identified in the ANJ’s strategic plan for the period 2024-2026: 

• Ensuring the strictest compliance with the ban on sales to minors by implementing a rigorous policy for controlling sales outlets (number of sales outlets controlled, applicable penalty system and representativeness of controlled sales outlets); 
• Strengthening the system for identifying and supporting excessive gamblers, in particular through the deployment in 2025 of a trial of identified gambling in sales outlets and a training and control plan for retailers.

How does the ANJ evaluate the effectiveness of harm prevention tools currently used by licensed operators in France?

In addition to examining action plans and promotional strategies, the ANJ may carry out checks to ensure that operators are complying with their obligations. In January, the Sanctions Committee of the ANJ imposed a public penalty of €800,000 on a French gaming operator that had failed to meet its obligations under the self-exclusion scheme.

Are there plans to impose stricter obligations on all operators in terms of responsible gambling, advertising limitations, or data monitoring?

The ANJ’s roadmap focuses on protecting minors and reducing excessive gambling and the social harm it causes, two common threads that inspire all of its actions. Therefore, ANJ monitors these three fields. Regarding data monitoring, ANJ is working on the development of an algorithm that could help to better identify excessive gamblers. 

Five years after the implementation and introduction of the new gambling law, the ANJ is organising a conference on June 27 to take stock of the central obligation to identify and support gamblers, to mobilise public policies and to identify the improvements that need to be made. A comparative approach and an exchange of views will enable us to put into perspective the best practices and the paths to follow.

“The ANJ’s roadmap focuses on protecting minors and reducing excessive gambling and the social harm it causes.”

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux’s chairwoman.

Regarding advertising limitations, ANJ has already made several legislative proposals to the public authorities to limit the volume of advertising and sponsorship. Of course, legislators have to decide on these changes. 

How is the ANJ adapting its regulatory strategy to keep pace with emerging gambling formats?

New innovative offers are emerging in France, challenging the traditional boundaries of the sector and attracting young people in particular. This is the case with the experimentation of ‘games with monetisable digital objects’ (JONUM), the regulation of which has been entrusted by the legislator to the ANJ and which should begin in September 2025, following the publication of the various decrees relating to the framework for these offers. This will be an opportunity for the ANJ to experiment with new methods of intervention, which, in this experimental phase, will give priority to compliance support.

The ANJ decided to launch a study on the influence of the design of gambling offers on gamblers’ behaviour and gambling consumption. Indeed, gambling offers, particularly online, are increasingly inspired by mechanisms from the world of video games and, for some of them, online casinos, in a context of gradual convergence of ‘gambling’ and ‘gaming’.

“The ANJ decided to launch a study on the influence of the design of gambling offers on gamblers’ behaviour and gambling consumption.”

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux’s chairwoman.

Could you share your view on the evolution of the French gambling market over the past few years?

Gambling has become an everyday consumer product in our societies, for all ages and all walks of life: more than one French person in two now gambles, representing a total expenditure of more than 55 billion euros each year. This phenomenon can be observed in all European countries, and the market in France has been growing steadily for several years (€14bn in 2024). The online sector recorded 13 per cent growth by 2024, thanks to very good results in sports betting. Other online activities are less dynamic. We are noticing a concentration of online actors. 

Sweden has recently decided to close its state-owned land-based casinos due to declining demand and a shift towards online gambling. How does the ANJ assess the viability and future of land-based casinos in France? Are similar trends being observed, and what measures are being considered to adapt to these changes?

The situation in France is rather different because of two main differences. First, there are many land-based casinos (more than 200). Second, online casinos are forbidden. The year 2024 seems to mark a consolidation for casinos, with GGR up slightly by 1.2 per cent to €2.7bn and the number of admissions stable at 31 million. Gaming club GGR slowed to €123m.

What are the ANJ’s main priorities for this year and beyond?

As I previously said, the ANJ’s roadmap focuses on protecting minors and reducing excessive gambling and the social harm it causes, two common threads that inspire all of its actions.

The ANJ’s new roadmap is based on three fundamental pillars:

• The first of these pillars, which reflects the public health implications of regulation, aims to drastically reduce the proportion and number of excessive gamblers in the gambling market. This key objective for the ANJ will require major efforts on the part of operators. It cannot be achieved without a coherent and balanced regulatory policy aimed at consolidating the French gambling market model.
• At the same time, this requires the ANJ to continue its efforts to preserve the transparency and integrity of the sector, with the fight against illegal gambling at the forefront (second pillar), and to strengthen the economic dimension of regulation in order to gain a better understanding of market balances and provide solutions to the changes it is facing today (third pillar).

https://focusgn.com/isabelle-falque-pierrotin-anj-new-innovative-offers-are-emerging-in-france-challenging-the-traditional-boundaries-of-the-sector