The French gambling sector is facing growing scrutiny after the country’s gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), revealed alarming new data. This new information suggested a sharp increase in excessive gambling behaviour among online and account-based players.
At the centre of the regulator’s findings is a newly developed algorithm designed to identify players who show problematic gambling patterns. According to the ANJ, the system identified roughly 600,000 players in France who have a strong probability of being excessive gamblers. This is about 8.7% of all account-based gamblers in the country.
What’s more worrying is the financial impact associated with these players. The regulator estimates that this group alone generated €1.2 billion in gross gaming revenue, which accounts for roughly 60% of total GGR in the regulated account-based gambling market.
The findings were presented as part of the ANJ’s broader 2024–2026 strategic plan, which puts the prevention of excessive and pathological gambling at the core of France’s gambling regulation framework.
A Growing Regulatory Concern
The ANJ’s report looks into a troubling picture of the French gambling scene. The overall gambling market may have expanded in recent years, but the regulator says the number of excessive gamblers is growing even faster than the broader player population.
The regulator particularly emphasised the existence of around 300,000 players classified as “manifestly excessive gamblers.” These are essentially individuals whose behaviour is considered severe enough that gambling operators should already have identified and intervened.
The gaming watchdog argues that current operator efforts remain insufficient despite recent improvements in player monitoring systems.
It was also reported that between 2024 and 2025, the number of excessive gamblers identified by operators reportedly increased from 31,000 to 89,000. It represents a nearly threefold increase, but the regulator believes the figures still fall far short of the actual scale of problem gambling.
According to the ANJ, there remains a major disconnect between operator-reported data and independent prevalence estimates.
Inside the Algorithm
The regulator’s new algorithm is being described as one of the first operational large-scale gambling harm detection systems in Europe.
Developed beginning in 2024, the tool uses continuous streams of gambling data submitted by French casinos as well as account-based gaming platforms operated by France’s monopoly gambling groups, including La Française des Jeux and PMU.
The system analyses 23 behavioural and financial indicators to assign a risk score to individual players. These indicators include:
- Frequency and intensity of gambling activity
- Financial transaction patterns
- Use of gambling moderation tools
- Historical gambling behavior
- Indicators linked to prior problematic conduct
Players are then categorised into four groups:
- Recreational players
- Moderate-risk players
- Excessive gamblers
- Extremely excessive gamblers
The ANJ stated that the algorithm was validated against the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, an internationally recognised benchmark used to assess gambling addiction severity. The validation process was overseen by an independent scientific committee composed of academic researchers and gambling experts.
While similar initiatives are reportedly under development in countries such as Spain and the Netherlands, the French regulator claims its system is currently the first fully available regulatory algorithm of its kind in Europe.
Operators Under Pressure
The publication of the findings significantly raises pressure on licensed gambling operators in France.
Under French law, operators are required to identify and support players who display signs of excessive or pathological gambling. This includes implementing preventative measures such as:
- Direct player outreach
- Personalised gambling limits
- Account restrictions
- Temporary or permanent account closures
- Referral to treatment organisations and addiction support services
The ANJ now appears determined to push operators toward much more aggressive intervention policies.
Although the algorithm will remain optional for operators, the regulator intends to use it as a benchmark tool to evaluate whether companies are doing enough to identify at-risk players.
In practical terms, this means the ANJ may compare operator-reported numbers against algorithmic estimates during future compliance reviews.
The regulator specifically warned that operators are expected to identify the approximately 300,000 “manifestly excessive” gamblers in the short term and progressively improve detection systems to cover the broader estimated population of 600,000 excessive gamblers.
Rising Dependence on High-Risk Players
Perhaps the most politically sensitive finding in the report is the growing economic dependence of gambling operators on high-risk customers.
As per ANJ data, excessive gamblers now generate 60% of all account-based gambling revenue in France: a proportion that has steadily increased since 2023.
This statistic is likely to intensify debates about the sustainability and ethics of gambling business models that derive a majority of revenues from potentially vulnerable consumers.
Public health advocates have long argued that the gambling industry disproportionately profits from addicted or high-risk users, much like debates surrounding tobacco, alcohol, and certain digital platform business models.
The ANJ’s findings may now provide regulators with stronger quantitative evidence to support tighter intervention measures.
Regulatory Technology and the Future of Gambling Oversight
The rollout of the ANJ’s algorithm reflects a broader trend toward data-driven regulation and AI-assisted oversight within highly regulated industries.
Instead of relying only on operator self-reporting or public health surveys, regulators are seeking real-time behavioural monitoring systems capable of identifying harmful patterns earlier and more accurately.
For the ANJ, the algorithm serves both as an enforcement mechanism and as a policy evaluation tool.
The regulator stated that the technology will help track long-term trends in gambling harm and assess whether prevention strategies are effectively reducing problematic behaviour across the market.
ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin described the launch of the algorithm as a “decisive step” for gambling regulation in France.
She emphasised that the tool complements broader prevalence studies while allowing regulators to more objectively measure whether operators are fulfilling their social responsibility obligations.
The ANJ also signalled that similar identification mechanisms may eventually be extended beyond online gambling into physical retail gambling locations, an area where regulators believe detection efforts remain particularly weak.
