France "already an open iCasino market," says Betclic CEO
Pro and anti-regulation speakers discussed key iCasino regulation issues during AFJEL conference
Good morning, on Gaming & Co today:
French trade body AFJEL’s annual conference focused on RG, licensing and fighting the illegal market, as online casino regulation dominated all discussions.
Black market clash: UK, Germany and Belgium all take action against illegal operators.
News shorts: New Zealand, Flutter Entertainment, Legendz launch
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Talk of the town
Debates at AFJEL annual conference focused on responsible gambling, licensing and fighting the illegal market, as potential online casino regulation dominated all discussions.
Main event: France’s iGaming industry gathered yesterday for the annual conference organised by its trade body AFJEL and discussions covered the role of AI in addressing problem gambling, illegal markets or tax raises, but, unsurprisingly, all conversations linked back to whether France should regulate online casino.
Addiction prevention: Commenting on the possibility of iCasino regulation, Isabelle Falque-Pierottin, President of France’s gambling regulator the Autorité Nationale des Jeux, said a fine balance had to be struck since online slots were the most addictive iGaming products.
“There are 1.4 million problem and 400,000 excessive gamblers (in France), so what would be the impact if we add addictive products on top?” The ANJ boss also asked whether regulation would dry out the illegal market. “It will certainly help, but the benefit is not so obvious.”
She also raised the potential impact regulation could have on land-based casinos and that regulating the vertical “would not be on the margins of an existing market, it is as important, if not more more significant than 2010” when the country legislated online sports betting and poker.
Home support: Falque-Pierrotin added that there would be a need to look out for French businesses and their capacity to withstand an influx of major newcomers. “International actors have been close to us for a number of years and are now intently knocking at our door,” she noted.
Upsetting the status quo
Nicolas Béraud (pictured, top left), CEO of French market leader Betclic and President of AFJEL, said the “status quo is no longer tenable” as a vast illegal market continues to target the country and licensed operators are unable to offer a key product to consumers.
Stating the obvious: Asked if regulation would bring the illegal market into a regulated environment, Béraud said he was unsure “if it was denial; the topic is not whether it should open, the market is already open”.
Open era: He added that French players can find an online casino site on Google in minutes and “play without even realising it’s an illegal site”. He also made the point that with an estimated 4 million players already active and revenues of €2bn, the illegal market in France is already “the size of a mature market".
Nobody does it better: “We honestly don’t know if problem gambling rates have gotten worse in recent years, but the 4 million playing on illegal sites should be brought into a legal setting. There is no one better than online operators at monitoring activity and detecting problem gamblers,” added Béraud.
From doubt to opposition: Lottery operator Française des Jeux has already expressed serious doubts about the project and in his comments, the group’s CSR Director Vincent Perrotin sounded like FDJ is opposed to regulation.
He said regulating online casino would amount to “overlaying a legal offer on top of a very important illegal one” and questioned the tax revenues of €1bn that the vertical is expected to generate and added that jobs in France would suffer as a result of any influx of international brands.
Anders Dorph, CEO of the Danish Gambling Authority, said the most important part of fighting illegal gambling “is to make sure you have a legal offer that gives the opportunity to have a sound legal market" so that legal operators can compete effectively.
Lucky 13: Dorph added that “DNS blocking illegal pages (is) like hunting rabbits”, but since Denmark has been doing it, there have been “13 times less illegal sites, so it definitely helps”.
All welcome: Béraud also welcomed the number 2 brand in the country Winamax as the latest member to join AFJEL.
He added that the trade group would continue the discussions it has been having with the government related to the tax rises it plans to introduce to raise an extra €500m for its social security budget.
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Gambling Commission CEO claims 10x more black market takedowns…
… as UKGC sets out to investigate account restrictions.
Working for the clampdown: Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes highlighted the work his team has done to counter the black market in his annual address to CEOs last week.
Since April this year, the Commission has:
Issued over 770 cease and desist, and disruption notices - this includes 262 cease and desist notices issued to operators and 205 to advertisers;
Referred over 102,000 URLs to Google with 64,000 of these removed by the search engine; and taken down 264 websites – a tenfold increase on 2023.
Creating clarity: Rhodes also announced the launch of an investigation into account restrictions and the reasons for them. “We want to understand what the actual reality is for accounts being factored, restricted, closed, put onto zero stakes and other similar things. We cannot continue to be surrounded by a debate where it is not clear what the true picture is,” he said.
White noise: The CEO cited “quite a dominant narrative forming” around winning sports bettors having their accounts closed and withdrawals frustrated. However, he said social media claims could often be misleading and interactions between operators also needed to improve.
Not my problem: Continuing on the theme of the industry’s reputation, Rhodes said it was not his job to defend the industry to the media or other critics.
German regulator says it has eradicated illegal Google Ads…
It’s a wipeout: The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) claims advertisements for illegal online gambling operators via Google Ads have been wiped out since the regulator introduced its new advertising policy in September.
Recall, the regulator collaborated with Google so that only licensed operators show in Google Ads. The result, it says, is that no “paid or sponsored advertising” for illegal online gambling appears on Google's search results page.
The regulator said: “Google wants to ensure that only permitted providers can place advertisements on Google's search results page… The amended advertising guidelines are the result of a constructive and trusting exchange.”
However, GGL admitted that work still needs to be done on curbing illegal operators’ presence on the search engine’s organic results page.
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… while Belgium grants anyone judicial power against illegal operators
Anyone can do it: Belgium’s Federal Public Service of Justice (previously Ministry of Justice) has updated the country’s Economic Code to give “any interested party” the ability to go after unlicensed online gaming operators in Brussels Commercial Court.
The new Code says any interested party - including private companies and industry associations - can flag illegal online gambling operators with the Brussels Commercial Court, according to SBC News.
The President of the Court can then grant an interim order against the operator and any related intermediary to stop the alleged infringements – if the “infringement appears clear and significant”.
The President is obliged to make a decision on the infringement in less than eight working days.
News shorts
Flutter Entertainment will focus on five key regions, the UK & Ireland, Asia-Pacific , Southern Europe & Africa, Central & Eastern Europe and Brazil, as part of a restructuring project to support the group’s future expansion plans.
Dan Taylor will lead the group’s international business, PokerStars lead Kevin Harrington is now UK & Ireland CEO and Amy Howe will continue to lead Flutter’s US activities.
International brands such as 888, Betway and Bet365 are vying to obtain one of 15 online casino licenses in New Zealand as the country prepares to regulate the vertical throughout 2025 and launch in 2026.
As sweepstakes and social sports betting continue to raise the hackles of US tribes and gaming trade groups, Legendz has launched in 43 US jurisdctions.
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