Internet service providers in France have been ordered to block access to two gambling sites after a bid was approved. The L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux’s (ANJ) recently approved the blocking order bid for both Stake.com and Cbet. The French regulator rarely announces this kind of blocking so this news has caused a stir in the industry.
Hugely popular sites blocked
The French regulator often blocks sites with 281 domain names owned by 125 different unlicensed gambling brands. However, they do not usually announce the individual blocking orders so why is this time different?
According to the French regulator, both Stake.com and Cbet are hugely popular with French players. In June this year, these sites received around 560,000 visitors from France.
Sites that aren’t approved in France
A spokesperson from the ANJ said: “The ANJ wishes to draw the public’s attention to the dangerousness of these illegal sites which record particularly high audiences. This is the reason why we decided, for the first time, to promote these judgments.”
They added that some of the games appearing on Cbet and a mirror site were not authorised in France. Currently, only sports betting, poker and lotteries are permitted. Stake.com was blocked due to the cryptocurrency option as this isn’t currently permitted in France due to concerns about money laundering.
A four-part process
The ANJ is quick to action any blocking bids but does have a four-part process in doing so. This includes a report by the ANJ agents, a formal notice to the operators is then sent. If this doesn’t work, they will refer the case to the courts which may then issue a blocking order.
The French regulator doesn’t hold back when it comes to upholding the regulations. Any operators and affiliates in this space should take care to avoid a blocking order being issued.
