France’s independent gaming administrative authority l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has made protecting minors a top priority in the three central pillars of its 2024-26 strategic plan, iGaming Business reported January 26.
ANJ created the strategy after a series of stakeholder discussions that focused on protecting youth and reducing problem gaming.
The first pillar is to reduce how many gamble excessively in the country’s legal market. This reflects public health concerns.
The second will continue ANJ’s transparency in maintaining the gambling sector’s integrity. The third pillar’s goal is to improve the economic effects of regulation.
ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin said the plan will be monitored during its duration to ensure the pillars are being achieved.
IGB quoted her as saying, “After three years of operation of the ANJ, we consider today that the regulation of gambling must take a turning point which implies that the market gradually pivots towards a less intensive model.” She added, “This proactive objective of reducing the number of excessive gamblers and strengthening the protection of minors will be monitored over three years, adjusted based on monitoring indicators and prevalence studies.”
The president continued, “It can only be achieved if all the players join forces alongside the regulator to move the lines: gaming operators, public authorities, institutions, associations etc.”
As part of the first pillar, the authority proposes to curb gambling advertising, concentrating on youth and other vulnerable groups. It will also recommend ethical advertising by gambling operators and sponsors.
An example of this was after the UEFA 2020 European Championship, when the authority told operators to reduce the number of ads. The authority followed this with a public consultation, which led to a crackdown two years later.
ANJ also plans to increase public campaigns warning of the risks associated with gambling, with the goal of a less “intensive” model that will reduce problem gambling behaviors.
The second pillar will include new policies to fight the gambling black market. It will include intervening with payment services, suppliers of technology and banning promotion of illegal sites on the internet.
This will be combined with stepped up enforcement against money laundering and fraud and setting policies for operators that offer JONUM games, i.e. crypto gaming, where the games have monetizable digital objects, such as NFTs.
Last September, the French National Assembly approved the JONUM regime for crypto gaming, which defined JONUM to distinguish it from gambling. The third pillar addresses JONUM, and encourages its development, while ensuring that players are protected.
