France. We analyze the launch of the National Gambling Authority (ANJ)

Thus, the ANJ is a single independent authority with an extended regulatory scope if we compare it with its closest antecedent ARJEL (French Online Gaming Regulatory Authority), which regulated 11% of the gaming sector, compared to 78% that regulates the ANJ, which represents a market of more than 50 billion euros in betting.

In other words, the ANJ is responsible for all components of the online gaming market and points of sale, which are divided into four categories:

• Sports bets
• Horse races
• Lottery and scratch games
• Casino games (poker)

ANJ is an authority responsible for all online and land based gaming operators, which seeks to avoid a double conflict of interest: on the one hand, the State is a shareholder of one of the operators, La Française des Jeux, and on the other, it must arbitrate between tax and public health issues.

ANJ is empowered to work on prevention, prescription, control and even sanctions throughout the gaming industry, in order to fulfill four fundamental objectives:

1. Prevent excessive or pathological gambling and protect minors;
2. Ensure the integrity, reliability and transparency of gaming;
3. Prevent fraudulent and criminal activities, as well as money laundering and financing of terrorism;
4. Ensure the balanced, fair development of various types of games, in order to avoid any economic destabilization of the sectors concerned.

In this regard, Isabelle FALQUE-PIERROTIN, President of the ANJ, expressed: “The ANJ is not an expanded ARJEL, it’s a new project that requires rethinking regulation. It must adapt its intervention to operators under exclusive rights (FDJ and PMU) and players who play for the most part anonymously at points of sale. I want to establish a regulation that combines support and control to better serve and protect the players".

Balanced structure

Today, June 23, will be the first official session of the new National Gambling Authority (ANJ), which also stands out for defending diversity and equality, as we can see below:

• The Board is made up of 9 members (five women and four men).
• The President of the Board is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic.
• The Board deliberates by majority of the current members. The president has a casting vote in the event of a tie.
• Among the other members of the Board, two (a woman and a man) are appointed by the President of the National Assembly and by the President of the Senate. In addition, six members are appointed by decree, divided between three women and three men.

On this occasion, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin was appointed president of the ANJ by decree of the French president for a non-revocable period of six years. The Board is made up of eight other members (four women and four men), from different areas of knowledge:

Mario BLAISE, psychiatrist, addictologist and family therapist, Polo Chief of the Marmottan Medical Center.
Cécile CHAUSSARD, professor of Public Law at the University of Burgundy.
Jean-Michel COSTES, Socioepidemiologist, Director of Studies at the Gambling Observatory at the Ministry of Finance.
Charles DUDOGNON, Director of the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) in Limoges.
Eliane HOULETTE, Honorary Financial Prosecutor.
Marie-Hélène MITJAVILE, State Councilor, Vice President of the Public Works section.
Chantal RUBIN, General Administrator of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (General Directorate of Companies).
Wilfried SAND-ZANTMAN, University Professor in Economic Sciences, at the Toulouse School of Economic Sciences.

DOSSIER