France’s gambling mediator praises industry
Mediator annual report, ANJ President talks racing, Kalshi &Co
Good morning, on Gaming&Co today:
France’s gambling mediator praises industry
ANJ President discusses French horse racing’s need for reform
Kalshi counters with NJ and Nevada suits
News shorts: Bet-at-home, Croatia, Ireland
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French gambling mediator praises operators’ cooperation
Number of mediation requests rises by just 20 over 12-month period
Mediate and recommend: France’s gambling mediator has said that its four main recommendations around player balances, live betting management, provisional account monitoring and preventing excessive gambling were well received by the country's operators as the number of mediation requests increased by just under 20 to 1,541 in 2024, virtually the same as the 1,523 it received in 2023. The majority of players’ requests related to disputes around account blocks, closures, fund withdrawals and bet cancellations.
The mediator said the proposals it put forward in partnership with the Autorité Nationale des Jeux, in particular with regard to commercial gestures and compensation, were the result of better cooperation with the operators.
Its four key recommendations centred on:
Refunding player balances: if a player's account is closed due to suspected fraud, operators should refund the initial deposit but not in cases of proven fraud.
Live betting management: operators should implement an automated system to immediately block bets once an event occurs to prevent post-event betting and inform players about the delay between an event and bet removal.
Provisional accounts: operators should closely monitor provisional accounts, checking supporting documents promptly to prevent minors or banned individuals from gambling. Accounts should be blocked if there are doubts.
Excessive gambling: the mediator said few disputes were raised on the topic, but operators must continue to implement policies to prevent excessive gambling. Measures should include enhanced communications, monitoring and fraud monitoring.
In total, 741 cases were processed in an average duration of 37 days, well below the maximum period of 90 days set by France's Consumer Code, with 728 claims declared inadmissible and nearly 47% of the mediator's proposals were accepted by the different parties.
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French horse racing needs a revamp, says ANJ President
Product is difficult to operate and vertical needs new dynamics, says French regulator
Costly Ming vase: Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, President of the Autorité Nationale des Jeux, has described France’s horse racing industry as “the most delicate vertical” of the country’s gambling market in a wide-ranging interview with Paris-Turf. She added that the sector’s, and by implication PMU’s, reliance on land-based outlets and an ageing consumer base for 80% of its revenues was the opposite trend to what is happening with online sports betting, where digital and mobile offerings are pulling the vertical upwards.
Drop: She noted that when she assumed her ANJ role in 2020, the vertical represented 20% of France's gambling market against 12% today, even if player numbers have increased slightly in recent months.
International arrivals: Highlighting the popularity of fixed odds bets with younger players and the fact that pari mutuel wagering is not an easy product to operate, she said that if horse racing bets were “fixed-odds in France”, as is the case in the UK, “we would see all these actors arrive, who are much more experienced than the French”.
Asked if online casino regulation was “inevitable”, she replied that it would be “a political choice, but that “the scale of its impact would be similar to 2010” when France regulated OSB and poker.
Racing roundup
Recall, France’s racing stakeholders have called for an audit of PMU’s activities and the group has said it will focus efforts on revamping its online offerings as it prepares for its job fair at the Auteuil hippodrome in Paris on 15 April.
In other racing news, former ZEturf shareholder and marketing director Valéry Bollier is suing the number 2 horse racing operator in France for unpaid stock options following the group’s sale to FDJ United for €175m in 2023.
Too trot to handle: French jockeys taking part in trotting races are now banned from whipping their horses during races. The ban was announced in December and came into force yesterday (1 April). However, they can still use a riding crop in situations in cases “where the safety of people or horses is threatened” with immediate danger.
Kalshi counters with NJ and Nevada suits
Trading platform says regulators misundertand prediction products
Kalshi counter: The prediction market operator Kalshi has countered the recent cease and desist letters sent out by gaming regulators in New Jersey and Nevada by filing lawsuits against the two largest gambling states in the US.
Writing on Linkedin, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said New Jersey and Nevada “fundamentally misunderstand prediction markets and undermine the foundation of U.S. financial markets, which are regulated by the federal government”.
In its lawsuit, Kalshi argues that it is not a sportsbook because of “crucial differences” between its exchange model and a sportsbook. “A financial exchange is an investment marketplace where traders enter into contracts with other traders—not with a casino or ‘house’” and that Kalshi customers were traders rather than punters.
New Jersey and Nevada's actions have been copied by Ohio, whose Casino Control Commission has also sent Kalshi a letter ordering it to cease its activities.
Kalshi said nearly $380m worth of contracts for the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments had been traded so far. The group is offering sports even contracts on March Madness across all US jurisdictions, something regulated sportsbooks are not allowed to do.
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News shorts
DACH-focused sportsbook Bet-at-home’s 2024 revenues increased 11.6% YoY to €52.3m while its EBITDA doubled to €4.8m as the company adjusts to restrictive regulations and high taxes in Germany. The end-of-year figures are a notable improvement on its Q1 numbers, which showed an annual GGR drop of 11% to €11.7m.
The company has forecast revenues of €46m-€54m and EBITDA to be flat at €4m due to the increase in betting licence fees in Austria and the absence of major international sporting events in 2025.
Croatia’s operators have warned the country’s government that gambling reforms set out as part of a new gambling law could impact 15,000 jobs because of new and excessive regulatory burdens that could have severe consequences for the legal industry. The reforms focus on new centralised controls, ending aggressive advertising, new taxes and introducing a socially responsible charter for gambling licences.
Ireland has called for companies interested in obtaining licences in the country to register their interest. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been tasked with awarding licences to operators for all forms of gambling in Ireland apart from the national lottery, which is operated under monopoly by FDJ United’s Premier Lotteries Ireland. The move will enable the regulator to gauge the potential size of the market.
Calendar
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