New Regulator Named For France’s Gambling Industry

• The gambling market in France has chosen a new regulatory body for its entire industry with the creation of L’Autorité nationale des Jeux (ANJ).
• The ANJ will oversee betting operations in the country in an effort to combat problem gambling, underage gambling, and criminal gambling in France.

PARIS – France has named L’Autorité nationale des Jeux (ANJ) as the new and sole regulator in overseeing all of the country’s gambling activities.

This was previously the job of l’Autorité nationale de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) but ANJ was created to take over the duties of ARJEL in a more proactive way.

The mission for ANJ has three priorities that top their list for regulating the gaming industry in France: combatting underage betting, eliminating gambling addiction, and putting a stop to criminal activities done within the market like that of fraudulent behaviors and money laundering.

What Will Be Done By L’Autorité Nationale Des Jeux?

The ANJ began making strides toward this transition in early 2020.

They appointed Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin as the head of their organization.

Prior to her promotion as the leader of the ANJ in January, Falque-Pierrotin worked with the National Commission for Computing and Liberties as their chief. She has said that the safety and protection of French gamblers is the main initiative for the ANJ and its existence.

Over 80% of legal wagers in France are done through lotteries, casinos, internet gaming, and horse races.

L’Autorité nationale des Jeux will now have the responsibility of ensuring that all of these activities are done properly which means having all operators abide by the rules bestowed upon them for each facet of the industry.

According to the Council of Ministers (COM), the ANJ will also be responsible for issuing licenses for online gambling platforms as well as prohibit marketing and advertisements by any gambling company that they believe to be harmful to viewers.

Essentially, the ANJ is the new and improved version of what the ARJEL was for the betting market in France.

The takeaway for what they will be doing outside of implementing the mandatory regulations and licenses for operators is trying to rid the country of gambling-related crime, underage gambling, and lessen the number of gambling addiction cases by having a say in the advertising of these businesses.

La Française des Jeux (FDJ) is a state-owned lottery that will be a completely private operation in November.

Before France allowed this to happen, they have made the ANJ an active regulatory body. Due to the fact that the lottery is regarded as “casino gaming” in the country, the FDJ will now need to follow the rules and regulations set by the L’Autorité nationale des Jeux, privately owned or not.

Any new offerings that the FDJ would like to present their customers with will first need the approval of the ANJ. The Mutual Urban Parity (PMU) will also need to seek approvals for their operations and games.

What France Can Expect From Their Gambling Industry

The French Government wanted a regulatory body for their country and its legal betting market that was a strong force to be reckoned with and the creation of the ANJ has given them that peace of mind.

The legal gambling market as a whole will be much safer with this new change. More than 80% of all betting done in the country is done so in the areas for which the ANJ will now be in control.

“The government wanted to clarify the organization of the regulation of gambling, in order to make it more efficient and the ordinance codifies in the first place the four objectives of the State policy on gambling; namely casinos, online gaming, horseracing and lottery,” said a spokesperson for COM.

With L’Autorité nationale des Jeux now at the helm of the industry, gambling in France will now be a safer environment for betting enthusiasts throughout the country. They will be able to give the consumer a more transparent gaming environment, allowing wagering activities to be just as secure as they are fun.

News tags: ANJ | ARJEL | France | Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin | L'Autorité nationale des Jeux