The National Gaming Authority (ANJ), an independent authority that has been regulating gambling since 2020, wants to see its power expanded to better protect players, especially minors exposed to strong advertising pressure, from the risks of addiction. "After three years of regulation, the ANJ considers that it is necessary to reduce (...) the population of excessive and pathological gamblers but also that it is necessary to act upstream in a more vigorous way, by strengthening the protection of players, "said Thursday Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, its president, at a symposium organized at the National Assembly by the deputy of the Oise Eric Woerth.
To do this, the ANJ will "ask operators to pilot more energetically the surveillance of their players", but it also wants to see its prerogatives expanded and has made "proposals" to the government in this direction, she explained. The gambling regulator wants to be able to "limit or suspend a game that is too addictive", continued its president, and be able to be more "restrictive" in terms of advertising, for example by limiting "advertising exposure around sporting events" and "advertising volumes", or the use of "some of the most intrusive levers" such as targeted advertising offers.
She would also like to be able to set up a "loss ceiling for 18-35 year olds, a population particularly interested in gambling but also particularly vulnerable in terms of addiction".
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"400,000 excessive gamblers"
Finally, the ANJ would like to have a "better thermometer" to assess the phenomenon of gambling addiction: according to the latest study by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT), 6% of players have problematic gambling practices in France, but this study "dates from 2019 and we will have an update in early 2024: Faced with the problems posed, it is not reasonable, "said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin. The Commission would like to be able to rely on 'a general prevalence study every two years', supplemented by 'more specific studies' devoted to 'all the issues raised by gambling'.
Online gaming operators could help finance them via an extension of the obligation, created in 2019, to devote 0.002% of the amount of bets, by which the FDJ and the PMU, holders of a monopoly, finance studies on the sector. "According to the OFDT there are 400,000 excessive players, the equivalent of a large French metropolis: that's more than Nice, Nantes or Montpellier. And in addition, there are a million players at moderate risk, "said the president of the ANJ, pointing to a "social problem" "because of the damage that this generates for a growing part of the population". "The English consider that for an excessive player, there are six people impacted: over-indebtedness, family problems ... It is therefore necessary to treat the issue from the root, to act before addiction, especially for the youngest, "she justified.
Authorized for 13 years in France, online gambling is supervised by the ANJ, which has only had the ability to regulate advertising since November 2020.
