ANJ imposes €500,000 fine on operator for risk detection failures

The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) of France has imposed a fine of €500,000 on an anonymous online betting operator, referred to as Company X, for failing to adequately identify customers showing signs of problematic gambling. This decision follows an investigation that found the company did not correctly identify 29 high-risk players. Six players were completely ignored and 23 were misclassified at a lower risk level.

Investigation Details

Between October 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, the ANJ conducted an administrative investigation into the account data stored in the operator's "coffre-fort". Using a scoring system based on indicators such as deposit frequency, betting intensity, loss patterns, and self-exclusion history, the ANJ identified the 30 players with the highest-risk profiles. Of these, 29 were the focus of formal complaints made by the regulator. The company also failed to provide the necessary support to 25 of these players to moderate their betting behavior.

Legal Basis for the Decision

The decision by the sanctions commission is based on several key laws. The first is the gambling law of May 12, 2010, as amended, which requires licensed online operators to detect excessive or pathological gambling behaviors. Additionally, the ministerial framework of April 9, 2021, establishes expected indicators for risk detection and anticipates that operators will use all relevant data to comply with these expectations.

Response from Company X

Company X discussed the regulator's methodology and the legal clarity of the obligations. They argued that due to the lack of a legal definition of "excessive" or "pathological" gambling in French legislation, the obligations are vague. They also questioned the application of specific indicators, such as the count of "completed bets" and the handling of the portability of voluntary limits.

Previous Sanctions

The commission acknowledged that automatic notifications contribute to harm reduction but considered them inadequate in most cases. Company X had already faced sanctions in 2024 for exceeding the legal cap on payout ratios in 2022. However, the current violations were treated as distinct.

The decision of July 10, 2026, will be formally notified to Company X. They have a period of two months to file an administrative appeal with the relevant courts.