The French government has created a set of new player protection requirements for operators wishing to offer their services to players here. These include safer gambling strategies and deposit limits amongst other tools.
All operators wishing to remain in the French markets need to submit a safer gambling action plan to the gambling regulator L’Autorité nationale des Jeux (ANJ). The regulator will then need to approve the plan, and may also be able to make recommendations for improvements.
These plans will also need to include a review of actions taken by brands to combat underage or excessive gambling in the past year, plus their strategies to further prevent them in the next.
If an operator has multiple brands or venues under their umbrella, they need only submit one plan for the entire company.
The French lottery operator La Française des Jeux and the horse racing Pari-Mutuel Urbain must have their plans submitted by the 30th of September 2021. Online operators must have theirs in one month later on the 30th of November, with other types of gambling operator such as land-based casinos then providing one by the 31st of December.
In addition to this, operators will have to submit plans for their future promotional strategies, due on the 31st of October 2021.
They will have to ensure that there is a reasonable selection of tools and resources to help players control their gambling habits. These include deposit and play time limits, as two examples that we might see rolling out.
These new player protection requirements should help to improve the French gambling scene and make it much safer for players to enjoy their favourite games legally.
