France working to create safer online gambling environment
The primary focus is to get the industry regulated as quickly as possible, to keep foreign sites at bay, and increase player safety.
In the last few months, more effort has been put into creating a safer gambling environment for players in France – with great results.
Safety first for French operators
Since the strike of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020, there has been an influx of online casino gaming. To be fair, the interest in online gambling has been growing over a long period of time.
In fact, research shows that the online gambling market is growing by approximately 10% per year. The increased interest in online gambling has resulted in the French Government shifting their focus to online operators and more online gambling regulations in France.
Just recently they introduced a number of player protection rules meant to enhance player safety by creating a more responsible gambling environment. The plans presented to the European Commission require all operators to have plans in place for safe gambling and limitations on deposits.
All operators must supply plans to the L'Autorit Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) which is the French Gambling Regulator. The regulatory body was first launched on the 22nd of June 2020 and is in charge of all gambling activity within France from lottery games, to land-based and online gambling.
The ANJ wants to enhance the security of online gambling and will examine all plans provided by operators. If plans are unsuitable, the ANJ will guide and advise, providing operators with new recommendations until satisfactory plans are in place.
The regulator signed an agreement mid-December 2020 with Unaf to prevent excessive betting and underage gambling. The new plans set in motion are all part of the drive to help boost the initiative and curb underage gambling and overspending.
Plans, modifiers and restrictions
With the new plans, the ANJ is looking to remove the temptation and clean up the industry one operator at a time. The regulatory body has the authorisation to withdraw all commercial strategies that could incite minors or those banned from gambling activities.
With these new measures, operators must limit the risk of potential addiction which includes the requirement of assessing the addiction potential of offers as well as whether it appeals to minors.
It has been suggested that operators make use of the Assessment Tool to Measure and Evaluate the Risk Potential of Gambling Products (ASTERIG) to make these assessments. This will allow all operators to analyze not just their platforms, but also the features available in their current game selection.
Addiction has been one of the biggest battles for the ANJ which is why tools such as Bet Limits, Account Limits, Game Time Limits and Self-Exclusion must be made available.
On top of that, operators have to do regular age verifications, identity checks and permanently ban gambling of minors on their sites.
Regulatory changes for 2021
Apart from a range of rules and regulatory changes in the French Gambling Market, we can expect to see various changes for 2021.
This includes more regulated gambling markets such as a regulated Dutch, Greek, and Brazilian Gambling Market. As for the EU market, it’s expected that growth will continue with the gambling commission dedicated to ensuring all operators and regions adhere to rules and implement fair regulations.
With the primary focus in most EU casinos being similar to France, there’s a new and improved dedication to enhancing safety features alongside the exciting casino games on offer.
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