Compliance Updates

ANJ, the new French gambling regulator is launched

Published

5 years ago

June 22, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

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.

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

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”.

2025 Global Regulatory Awards

Vixio Announces the 2025 Recipient of the Compliance Lifetime Achievement Special Award

Published

9 hours ago

October 14, 2025

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Vixio, a leading provider of regulatory intelligence solutions, is delighted to announce that Wes Himes will receive the Compliance Lifetime Achievement Special Award at the 2025 Global Regulatory Awards. This prestigious honour recognises individuals whose exceptional contributions have advanced the culture of compliance and regulatory standards across the gambling industry.

Throughout his distinguished career, Wes has been at the forefront of shaping modern gambling regulation, from founding the Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association (iGGBA) in 2000 to serving as Executive Director of Standards and Innovation at the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and now as a Partner at Intrepid Partners. “I am truly humbled to be receiving this award… When I started in this industry 25 years ago, I had no idea how dynamic and exciting the sector would later become,” stated Wes Himes. Himes added: “It has been a privilege and a pleasure working with so many colleagues that I call friends, and I can not thank enough the operators and other stakeholders who have been so supportive of my work and career.”

As part of this announcement, Vixio has released a special episode of the Regulatory Radar Podcast. Vixio’s Chief Analyst, James Kilsby, sits down with Compliance Lifetime Achievement Special Award recipient Wes Himes to discuss his 25-year journey in the gambling sector, from navigating policy debates to building bridges between regulators, operators, and policymakers. Listeners will gain insight into how compliance has evolved into a cornerstone of sustainable growth and hear Wes’s perspective on the future of regulation and responsible gaming. A thoughtful and inspiring conversation with one of the most respected voices in the field, don’t miss this look back at a remarkable career and what lies ahead for the industry. To listen to the episode in full, please visit the Vixio website or follow the link here.

The post Vixio Announces the 2025 Recipient of the Compliance Lifetime Achievement Special Award appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

BetterGambling

BetterGambling Exclusive Report: 800+ UK Casino Operators Face Closure as 2026 Regulations Trigger Industry Apocalypse

Published

5 days ago

October 9, 2025

Niji Narayan

bettergambling-exclusive-report:-800+-uk-casino-operators-face-closure-as-2026-regulations-trigger-industry-apocalypse

Reading Time: 2 minutes

BetterGambling, the UK’s independent gambling industry think tank, released its comprehensive Market Intelligence Report, indicating over 800 casino operators will be forced out of the UK market by 2027, the largest industry slump in British gambling history.

The study, authored by BetterGambling’s stable of former casino bosses and regulatory experts, projects a precipitous 30-40% drop in authorised operators as the 2026 regulatory landscape renders continued operation economically non-viable for the low-to-midsized players.

“We are witnessing the greatest scale of change since the Gambling Act 2005. Our analysis proves that this is not just market consolidation – it’s a structural realignment of an industry that today supports 2,262 licensed operators as of March 2024,” said Diana Tunsu, Reviewer at BetterGambling.

Key findings from the BetterGambling report include:

• 680-900 operators anticipated to exit the market by the end of 2027 (30-40% of the current market)

• New casino launches will drop by 60-70% relative to 2024 levels

• White-label operations will see a 45-55% closure rate as a result of shifts in platform economics

• Stand-alone casinos will see 40-50% market consolidation as a result of compliance barriers

• Total first-year compliance investment of £800,000-2.8 million per operator.

The Compliance Investment Reality

BetterGambling’s in-depth analysis of operators reveals the true cash investment required for 2026 compliance. The regulatory fee alone will remove £100 million from the industry annually, and technology infrastructure upgrades will cost individual operators between £500,000 and £2 million.

“The economics are straightforward. Operators with GGY below £3 million per year are faced with a stark choice: spend significantly on compliance or consider strategic options including withdrawing from the market,” explained Diana Tunsu.

For more detailed analysis of the impact on different forms of casinos, see our in-depth UK Casino Reviews section.

White-Label Market Transformation

White-label casino businesses are recognized as being severely tested in this report, with 45-55% predicted to merge or close down. Of the estimated 350-450 current white-label businesses, BetterGambling predicts 200-300 will survive past 2027.

“White-label operators have a complex equation,” said the BetterGambling research team.

“They must navigate through the same compliance for independent operators when handling revenue-sharing arrangements with platform providers.”

The post BetterGambling Exclusive Report: 800+ UK Casino Operators Face Closure as 2026 Regulations Trigger Industry Apocalypse appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Compliance Updates

UKGC Introduces New Deposit Limit Rules

Published

5 days ago

October 9, 2025

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is going to implement new deposit limit rules to help customers manage their spending.

Operators are currently required to offer tools so customers can easily set personal budgets for gambling at registration or when they first deposit money into their gambling account. To increase consumer empowerment the Commission is amending the rules to provide further consistency and clarity for customers when setting financial limits. These changes focus on how these limits are defined and communicated to customers.

From 30 June 2026 all online operators must provide customers with the opportunity to set a “deposit limit” which is based solely on the amount a customer pays into their account over a set duration. To avoid confusion, only this form of limit may be called a “deposit limit”.

In addition, gambling businesses will also be able to offer different limits, such as loss limits or limits where withdrawals are also taken into account.

The improvements to the rules are coming into effect in stages, and a key milestone is the set of previously announced changes which will come into effect on 31 October 2025 and require all gambling businesses to:

• prompt their customers to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit and make it easy for them to review and alter their limit

• remind consumers every six months to review their account and transaction information to help customers maintain control of their gambling spend

• offer financial limits using free text at an account level to help customers set meaningful limits

• provide financial limit setting facilities via a link on the homepage and deposit pages which are clearly visible and accessible, with the number of clicks to reach these facilities minimalised

• action all customer requests to decrease a financial limit immediately.

Helen Rhodes, Commission Director of Major Policy Projects, said: “Our work will help empower consumers to have greater awareness and control over their gambling. These further changes will also bring consistency and clarity for those consumers choosing to set deposit limits, while still supporting gambling businesses to offer customer choice for different forms of limits.”

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