The French gambling authority ANJ has imposed a €500,000 penalty on an unnamed platform for failing to monitor players exhibiting signs of excessive gambling. The sanction follows a review of thirty accounts active between October 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.
The regulator’s Sanctions Committee convened on June 30 to evaluate the operator’s compliance. Officials applied seven metrics, including deposit frequency, lost deposit counts, play frequency, bet volume, legal gambling moderator modifications, self-exclusion tool usage, and account creation patterns. The committee determined that the company neglected its duty-of-care requirements for nearly all thirty players.
Several individuals were never flagged as high-risk, while others received inadequate risk classifications despite their betting behavior. The operator also failed to apply tiered intervention measures designed to limit spending.
Operator Defense and Regulatory Response
During the proceedings, the company contested the penalty. Management argued that French legislation does not formally define pathological or excessive gambling, making compliance assessment impossible. The operator also noted that bet counts excluded canceled wagers and that adjusting personal limits should not trigger risk alerts. The ANJ maintained that the €500,000 sanction remains justified, citing the severity, duration, and financial impact of the violations.Pascal Chèvremont recently assumed the role of ANJ president, outlining stricter enforcement standards for licensed platforms. The authority has also deployed a new algorithm to track gambling behavior across the market. Initial data indicates that players classified as high-risk generate sixty percent of total operator gross gaming revenue.