France Demands Casino Marketing Budget Cuts to Suppress Growth

The French gambling regulator l’Autorite Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) is calling on online gambling operators to review and reduce their plans for promotional spending in 2025 after revealing an expected 11% rise in marketing budgets for the coming year. 

Each year, licensed operators in France are required to submit their planned budget for upcoming promotional spending for approval from the ANJ, which then considers whether the planned spending could result in gambling harm or appeal to minors.

The ANJ Reviews Promotional Strategies for 2025 

The ANJ has reviewed the promotional strategies of France’s 16 licensed online operators as well as those of La Francaise des Jeux (FDJ),  the operator of France’s National Lottery and horse-racing-focused Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU). 

The regulator has called on the four biggest operators to moderate their marketing spending to lessen the potential impact it could have on irresponsible gamblers and minors. Reduced promotional spending was deemed inconsequential as they were already well-established in the market.

To ensure compliance, these operators are required to present amendments to their proposed promotional budgets to the ANJ on 17 February. 

 Higher Promotional Spending Planned for 2025 

The ANJ said that promotional investments across the 16 licensees will rise by 11% in 2025 and are expected to reach €695 million ($724 million). This includes marketing spending and player bonuses. 

• Investment in player bonuses will increase by 11%, representing 58,5% of the overall budget. The regulator believes operators will attempt to consolidate their player bases and that cross-selling efforts are their driving marketing strategies. 
• Marketing spending is set to rise by 12%, partly due to a 5% increase in advertising budgets. Digital media will account for 45% of all marketing investments, and sports sponsorship will rise by 23%.  

 4 Largest Operators Called Upon to Lower Promotional Spending

After analysing the proposed strategies for 2025, the ANJ has made several requests to the largest online operators to prevent overexposure to advertising and potential gambling harm. 

A key requirement in this regard is that the four largest online operators reduce their promotional budgets for the coming year. While the regulator did not identify these entities, it said that their budgets accounted for 85% of the planned promotional spending. 

The ANJ reasoned that these operators were already well-established and that spending on marketing and financial retention rewards should be curtailed. 

Reflecting on its 2024 evaluation, the ANJ noted that operators had largely incorporated its recommendations, which included reducing marketing spending by 8% below their proposed budgets.