Compliance Updates
ANJ, the new French gambling regulator is launched
On Monday 22 June, the members of the ANJ met for the first time around the President, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin. This first meeting of the ANJ Boardmarks the launch of the new regulator, which is now competent in all segments of the gambling market.
An extended regulatory scope
In 2019, France has amended its legal framework of gambling and its regulation. A new gambling regulatory authority (ANJ) has been set. It follows ARJEL with a significantly extended regulatory scope and enhanced powers.
The ANJ is now responsible for all components of the legal gambling market, both online and offline:
- online games that ARJEL regulated, such as sports betting and horse racing betting and poker offered by the 14 licensed operators ;
- all the games of La Française des Jeux or the PMU sold in physical points of sale or online;
- 228 racecourses;
- 202 casinos, with the exception of anti-money laundering issues and the integrity of the games offered, which remain under the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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While ARJEL regulated 11% of the French gambling legal market, the ANJ now regulates 78%, which represents a market of more than 50 billion euros in bets
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The foundations for a consolidated regulation are therefore laid to have an overall gambling policy in France under the control of the ANJ. It will be able to implement a complete “toolbox” including preventive, prescriptive and control activities, as well as sanction measures throughout the entire gambling industry.
The ANJ missions are structured around four objectives:
- Prevent excessive or pathological gambling and protect minors;
- Ensure the integrity, reliability and transparency of gaming;
- Prevent fraudulent and criminal activities, as well as money laundering and financing of terrorism;
- Ensure the balanced, fair development of various types of games, in order to avoid any economic destabilisation of the sectors concerned.
Enhanced powers
The ANJ has enhanced powers to fulfil its missions, such as the ability to require the withdrawal of a commercial communication involving an inducement to excessive gambling or the ability to carry out on-site controls.Regarding operators under exclusive rights, it authorizes their games offer and it annually approves their games program, their promotional strategy as well as their action plans in the fight against fraud and money laundering on the one hand, prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of minors on the other hand. The ANJ will exercise greater control over these operators in these different fields.
The methods of regulation
The ANJ will set up a regulation that combines support and control.
- In the short term, the ANJ will use pedagogy to explain to economic actors the new rather complex legal framework. It has already planned to bring them together shortly to present their new obligations.
- It is currently finalising two reference frameworks, one on the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of minors and the other on the fight against fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. These new compliance tools will be submitted for consultation with the stakeholders concerned in order to develop standards that are as close as possible to the sectoral realities and to secure their practices.
- It will also ensure compliance with the obligations of the law, which implies a credible and appropriate control strategy, and even sanctions for the most serious breaches. In this respect, it will sign an agreement with the Race and Gaming Central Service of the Ministry of Home Affairs for on-site inspections in points of sale and casinos.
Protecting players: a priority for the ANJ
In France, one person out of two is a gambler. Problem gamblers are estimated around 1,2 million. So, preventing excessive or pathological gambling is a public health issue to which the ANJ attaches the utmost importance.
The ANJ will place the players at the heart of the regulation. For that to be real and effective, the ANJ will be as close as possible to the gambling experience and the uses of the players, by articulating its action around the three fronts: information, service and capitalization on the collective intelligence of the players.
The transfer of the management of the file of banned players from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the ANJ starting from September will be an opportunity to make players more responsible. Indeed, the ANJ will propose a new registration process and a real tool for self-protection and control of the game, faster and less guilt-ridden. Concretely, a motivational interview with the ANJ staff will be carried out with the players in order to direct them, if necessary, to health-care professionals.
For Isabelle FALQUE-PIERROTIN, Chairwoman of the ANJ: “The ANJ is not an enlarged ARJEL, it is a new project that requires rethinking regulation. It has to adapt its intervention to monopolies (FDJ and PMU) and to players gambling mostly anonymously in points of sale. I would like to set up a regulation that combines support and control in order to better serve and protect players”.
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Compliance Updates
NOVOMATIC Becomes the First Gaming Technology Company to Earn the ISO 20671 “Certified Brand” Status
The NOVOMATIC brand has successfully achieved certification in accordance with the international ISO 20671 standard, “Brand Evaluation – Principles and Fundamentals,” and has been awarded the prestigious “Certified Brand” seal. This makes NOVOMATIC the first gaming technology company worldwide whose brand has been comprehensively appraised on the basis of this internationally standardized evaluation model.
The certification process is based on a structured and transparent assessment framework that evaluates brand strength and long-term development potential. In line with ISO standards, key aspects of NOVOMATIC’s corporate and brand management in Austria were analysed, including innovation capability, quality standards, service orientation, market performance and the brand’s impact on customers, partners and stakeholders. The assessment also covered brand protection and market and trend analyses, as well as transparent reporting and governance processes.
“Our brand stands for clear standards and the highest level of quality. As the first gaming technology company worldwide with an ISO 20671-certified brand, we are setting a new benchmark for future-oriented brand management and reaffirming our commitment to shaping the gaming industry through innovation, quality, and sustainable brand development,” said Stefan Krenn, Member of the Executive Board of NOVOMATIC AG.
The certificate was presented during the International NOVOMATIC Marketing & Communications Summit, which was hosted this year by the NOVOMATIC subsidiary LÖWEN ENTERTAINMENT in Bingen, Germany. The event brought together marketing and communications experts from more than 30 countries and provided the ideal setting to celebrate this significant acknowledgement of NOVOMATIC’s brand management excellence.
The post NOVOMATIC Becomes the First Gaming Technology Company to Earn the ISO 20671 “Certified Brand” Status appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
European Standard on Markers of Harm Now Published – EGBA Members Commit to Alignment
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the publication of the European standard on markers of harm in gambling (EN 18144), on 31 May 2026, through the national standardisation bodies of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). EGBA and its members support the standard as an important voluntary baseline for identifying risky gambling behaviour, and its members are committed to aligning their player protection frameworks with the standard across Europe.
The standard establishes a strong baseline for consumer protection across Europe, identifying nine core behavioural markers that operators can use to recognise risky gambling patterns before they escalate:
- changes in stake volume or frequency.
- speed or intensity of play.
- deposit frequency, size, or failed deposits.
- withdrawals and cancelled withdrawals.
- player-initiated contact.
- gambling session duration or time-of-day play.
- use of multiple products.
- net losses or loss trajectories over time.
- changes to safety tools such as limits and self-exclusion.
EGBA proposed this initiative to CEN in 2022 and actively participated in its development alongside operators, national authorities, academics, and other harm prevention stakeholders. The resulting standard – the first of its kind in the gambling industry – is grounded in the latest research and received overwhelming approval from national standardisation bodies in October 2025.
EGBA members are already putting the standard into practice in Europe:
• Most members already monitor all nine behavioural indicators, with many having embedded them across all their operations.
• Members apply risk-scoring models to continuously assess player behaviour and flag emerging risk patterns.
• Members are committed to progressive alignment with the standard across all their operations.
“This is an important milestone for player protection in Europe. When widely adopted, this voluntary standard will lead to earlier identification of risky play and, ultimately, better protection for players. Our members are ahead of the curve on implementation – they are already applying many aspects of the standard and are committed to alignment across their European operations. We encourage other operators to adopt the standard and help raise the bar on player protection across Europe,“ said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA.
As a voluntary tool, the standard complements existing national regulatory frameworks across Europe. In some jurisdictions, certain markers may not be applicable where they conflict with national law, and implementation will reflect the regulatory realities of each market. EGBA remains committed to supporting its members and the wider industry to drive implementation of the standard across Europe.
The standard (EN 18144) is now available for purchase from national standardisation bodies across Europe.
The post European Standard on Markers of Harm Now Published – EGBA Members Commit to Alignment appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Finland consults on online gambling rules with slot stake caps and autoplay ban
Finland’s Ministry of the Interior has published a draft regulation for public consultation that would set detailed product-level requirements for gambling offered by holders of Finnish gambling licences. The regulation is proposed to enter into force on 1 July 2027, as Finland prepares for its new licensing regime.
The draft introduces maximum stakes across electronic casino game categories. Electronic slot machine games and electronic bingo would be capped at EUR 20 per round, with higher limits proposed for certain electronic table games. Online poker would be subject to a maximum initial bet of EUR 1,000 per game. Where a combination game spans multiple categories, the explanatory memorandum says the applicable maximum stake would be determined by reference to the game types included in that combination.
A lower set of stake limits would apply to players under 25. For this group, the maximum stake for electronic slot machine games and electronic bingo would be EUR 10 per round, with reduced caps also proposed across several table game categories.
The draft also regulates tournament entry fees and jackpot mechanics. Table game tournaments (excluding player-versus-player poker) would be capped at EUR 1,000, player-versus-player poker tournaments at EUR 5,000, and electronic slot machine tournaments at EUR 500. It expressly permits surprise-type jackpots and winning-combination jackpots, including fixed, odds-based and progressive jackpots.
For electronic slot machine games, the proposal adds game design and player protection requirements that would effectively prohibit autoplay. Players must choose their own stake and start each round themselves, and operators may not offer or technically enable simultaneous play of two or more electronic slot machine games. Each round must last at least 2.5 seconds and players must not be allowed to shorten the draw time before the result is displayed. The draft also restricts presentation features that could imply a win is likely in future rounds or misrepresent losses, requires disclosure that in electronic games of chance player choices do not affect the draw outcome, and mandates on-screen playing-time reminders every 15 minutes with a continue-or-logout choice (with an exception for electronic casino games where players play against each other).
The consultation is open to anyone wishing to comment, with submissions due by 5 August. The regulation remains in draft form and may change before adoption.
The post Finland consults on online gambling rules with slot stake caps and autoplay ban appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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