The ANJ has issued fines of up to €150,000 against eight bookmakers.

France.- The French gambling regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has issued a series of fines against gambling operators related to payout limits on World Cup betting. It’s been reported that eight online operators have been hit with fines ranging from €5,000 to €150,000.

The operators, which French media say include major brands such as Betclic and Winamax, reportedly breached the maximum payout ratio of 85 per cent. The regulator itself hasn’t published a detailed breakdown of the fines issued, but Les Echos reported that Betclic and Winamax were fined €150,000 while Kindred Group’s Unibet (now owned by France’s FDJ) was fined €100,000. PMU was reportedly fined €15,000 and NetBet €10,000.

ANJ said the size of the fine issued to each reflected “the extent to which the ratio was exceeded, the significance of the operator in the sector and/or the fact that the operator had already been the subject of a sanction”. Fines had been issued in April 2023 for similar breaches.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar saw the French football team lose the final against a victorious Argentina. That helped drive record betting activity for the year as a whole. Operators reportedly advised the ANJ that the level of wagering had meant that they had been unable to comply with payout limits at times. Bookmakers took over €600m in bets during the World Cup and exceeded the ratios by margins from 0.1 per cent (with a payout ratio of 85.1 per cent) to 5.3 per cent (a payout ratio of 90.3 per cent).

The 85 per cent payout ratio limit was set for online sports betting in 2010 with the aim of preventing excessive gambling, money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. However, operators complain that it means they have to promote higher odds, harming competition with the illegal sector. The limit on payout ratios in some other European countries is as high as 97 per cent.

French gambling changes: tax hikes and online casino

Meanwhile, senators have voted for the government’s proposed rise in gambling tax. The proposal had been voted down by MPs but has now been approved by the Senate after an exemption was made for horseracing. The tax on retail sports betting revenue will rise from 7 to 10 per cent and the tax on online GGR from 10.5 to 15 per cent.

The government has also announced a six-month consultation on proposals to regulate online casino gambling in France. There were plans to open a competitive regulated casino market in 2025, but the government backtracked after criticism from local authorities and land-based casino operators.