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New French Gambling Law Tackles Black Market Casinos
By Shane Addinall Mar 19, 2022 IndustryFrench gambling regulator ANJ takes charge of a safer gambling market in the European country. Updated laws cut out unnecessary red-tape for the authority to do its duty.Illegal gambling websites have their days numbered in France, as the European country’s regulator now has the authority to block all unlicensed platforms. L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the French regulator, received additional power in this regard through legislation intended to democratise sport in the country.
From 2 March 2022, the ASJ may block any unlicensed gambling website accessible to French punters, regardless of the platform’s intention toward players in the region. Before the regulator received the authority to block any unlicensed operator, it had the power to stop websites that target French gamblers specifically.
Gambling operators need an ASJ licence to offer remote betting services to players in all French regions. France does not regulate or licence online casino gaming.
No Excuses
A more powerful French regulator steps into action as the country seeks to make sports more accessible to its citizens. Although the new laws focus predominantly on uncovering and curbing match-fixing, to ensure a safe sporting democracy in France, certain sections of the law allow ANJ to zone in on all platforms without the required licence.
The French regulator came into being as part of the French Gambling Act of 2010, however, the body only gained jurisdiction in the online gambling sphere at the beginning of 2020 when it replaced the Autorite de Regulation des Jeux en Ligne (ARJEL). Since then, the ANJ blocked over 250 websites that specifically targeted French customers.
French gambling regulations specify that without regulatory approval, online platforms and sportsbooks may not allow access to French players. The only forms of gambling that are legal in France are horse and sports betting, and poker. Under the new law, it may block any site that accepts bets from French citizens on ANJ’s orders.
This means that even if platforms claim they accept bets from players in France ‘unknowingly’, they face the possibility of being blocked completely. Operators can no longer turn a blind eye to their duty of care and they must prevent French players from accessing their sites. If not, they face the same fate as Cbet and Stake.com, possibly the two most famous platforms named and shamed by ANJ.
A Fair Warning
Press detail the process which ANJ must follow according to the new law and platforms will have reasonable opportunity to rectify their slip up before the regulator blocks them completely. According to sources, the ANJ’s president may approach and reprimand any person who allows French gamblers to access their site.
The president will do this through a formal notice which instructs the operator to halt compromising activities. ANJ’s letter also specifies that the operator in question must submit any observations within 5 days of receiving the notice.
In the event of no corrective action from the operator within the stated time frame, the ANJ reserves the right to notify search engines, internet service providers, and payment solution companies and order them to implement a block.
No More Horseplay
ANJ is part of a league of regulators across the industry that has stepped up to the plate and black market operators have their days numbered in many jurisdictions. This is one of the reasons a regulated gambling market is paramount. When the cat’s away, mice will play.
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