Key Moments:
- The French regulator, ANJ, approved operators’ annual safer gambling plans but demanded more concrete results by 2027.
- Flagged cases of potentially excessive gambling rose from 31,000 in 2024 to 89,000 in 2025 among licensed online operators.
- AFJEL reported in November 2025 that the illegal online market counted 5.4 million players with estimated €2bn gross gaming revenue.
Regulator’s Review Highlights Progress and Remaining Challenges
The French gambling authority, ANJ, provided feedback on licensed operators’ annual action plans addressing excessive gambling and underage access, following a review at the beginning of April. The assessment covered France’s two monopoly gaming providers, 17 licensed online operators, 210 casinos and gaming clubs, as well as 231 racecourses.
Although the plans received approval, the ANJ stressed that achieving a reduction in the number of excessive gamblers by 2027 is a core objective. Operators are now being asked to deliver measurable progress, not just procedural compliance.
The OFDT observed that 51.6% of adults aged 18 to 75 in France engaged in gambling in 2023, with approximately 810,000 considered moderate-risk and 360,000 classified as high-risk gamblers. The prevalence of problem gambling reportedly remained stable compared to 2019.
Online Gambling Shift: From Compliance to Results
France’s regulated online gambling options are limited to lottery, sports betting, horse-race wagering, and poker. The ANJ noted improvements in systems for detecting excessive play, as reflected by the rise in players flagged by operators from 31,000 in 2024 to 89,000 in 2025. This increase suggests greater sensitivity in detection, though the regulator clarified it does not necessarily mean problem gambling has grown.
However, the ANJ maintains that identification rates should better match the operators’ actual player base and the prevalence rates reported in independent data. Operators are therefore facing increased pressure to demonstrate practical outcomes from their safer gambling initiatives, especially regarding early technology-driven intervention, timely responses, and meaningful follow-up.
FDJ United emphasized these themes in its 2025 integrated report, stating: “Responsible gaming is non-negotiable. Our model’s sustainability depends on it.” The group implemented digital detection tools and committed 10.8% of its French advertising spend to responsible gaming efforts in 2025.
Physical Venues and Racecourses Under Stricter Scrutiny
Land-based operations led by FDJ United and PMU, which collectively make up nearly two-thirds of French gambling activity, are being pushed to enforce underage sales bans more rigorously at retail outlets. The ANJ wants to see broader, risk-oriented inspections and stricter sanctions, along with improved processes for identifying and assisting at-risk individuals in brick-and-mortar environments.
Pauline Hot, the ANJ’s director general, previously explained the regulator’s stance: “Even if gambling is authorised and regulated, it should not become a product of everyday consumption,” she told SiGMA News, “Playing is allowed, but it carries risks.” This approach continues to influence the ANJ’s wider oversight, spanning advertising to offline and emerging digital gambling formats.
The response to casinos was nuanced, with the ANJ acknowledging progress—especially growing partnerships with addiction specialists and training endeavors, including more than 2,200 people completing sector-specific e-learning. Still, it criticized the relative lack of interventions in relation to venue footfall, noting that only one casino’s plan was formally rejected, indicating willingness to act decisively when standards fall short.
Racecourses were instructed to maintain clear boundaries between family activities and betting, with an added expectation of greater oversight on events aimed at children to prevent inadvertent exposure to gambling.
Black Market Growth Poses Major Threat
The ANJ warned that industry credibility increasingly depends on visible, concrete improvements in detection, intervention, and consumer safeguards—yet this runs alongside a surging illegal market. According to AFJEL, as of November 2025, unauthorized online gambling in France had 5.4 million players, far surpassing the 3.5 million in the regulated sector, and generated approximately €2bn in gross gaming revenue. This black market growth threatens not only the commercial interests of licensed operators but also undermines the consumer protections enforced by the regulator, since unauthorized sites are outside the ANJ’s reach for checks and interventions.
Key Data Summary
| Category | 2023/2024/2025 Figure |
|---|---|
| Adults gambling (2023) | 51.6% |
| Moderate-risk gamblers | 810,000 |
| High-risk gamblers | 360,000 |
| Flagged excessive players (2024) | 31,000 |
| Flagged excessive players (2025) | 89,000 |
| Regulated online market (Players) | 3.5 million |
| Illegal online market (Players) (Nov 2025) | 5.4 million |
| Illegal market Gross Gaming Revenue (Nov 2025) | €2bn |
| Responsible gaming share of FDJ United ad spend (2025) | 10.8% |
| Casino e-learning completions | 2,200+ |
- Author
Daniel Williams
