A visionary anniversary for ANJ’s 5th birthday

To mark its 5th birthday, the ANJ organised a major conference to strengthen the fight against gambling addiction. Experts and regulators called for more proactive regulation, focusing on AI, personalised support and legislative reform. The aim: to build a sustainable French model focused on protecting players.

On 27 June 2025, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) celebrated its fifth anniversary at the Palais du Luxembourg. Rather than a simple celebration, the event took the form of a major symposium on gambling addiction, entitled ‘Gambling addiction: a major collective challenge’. This dense and committed day brought together researchers, regulators, industry professionals, elected representatives and public health players to take stock, identify the obstacles and open up concrete avenues for improvement.

Through a comparative approach and cross-cutting perspectives, the symposium acknowledged a paradigm shift: regulation of the sector can no longer be based on compartmentalised sectoral interests, but requires collective mobilisation around a public health objective.

From growth to responsibility

In her introduction, Christine Lavarde, Senator for Hauts-de-Seine, reminded us of the two sides of gambling: a dynamic economic sector that creates jobs, but also a risky area for financial abuse and addiction. In particular, she pointed to the strategy of certain operators who use themes such as biodiversity to appeal to younger players, as well as the rise of web3 games, which are poorly regulated.

In response, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, President of the ANJ, reaffirmed the regulator’s determination to pivot the sector’s economic model to make it more sustainable and less dependent on high-risk gamblers. This requires structural change, based on better identification of problematic behaviour and enhanced support.

Excessive gambling: heavy and invisible social costs

The presentations at the first round table painted a vivid picture of the social cost of gambling. According to the work presented by Dominik Stroukal and the LEM team (University of Lille), gambling not only generates direct costs (medical and financial) but also, and above all, high intangible costs: psychological distress, suffering of loved ones, loss of quality of life.

The challenge? To better document these costs using a robust methodology that is integrated into French economic conventions. For the time being, there are still too many gaps in data collection.

AI, algorithms and targeted prevention 

The second part of the conference focused on identifying problem gamblers. All the speakers agreed that, despite the efforts made, the gap between the figures declared by operators (30,000 gamblers identified) and those estimated by the OFDT (370,000 problem gamblers) is alarming.

AI is seen as a promising lever. The EDEIN study, presented by Gaëlle Challet and Bastien Perrot, aims to develop a predictive model based on gambling data, with clinical validation. Spain is going even further: from 2026, operators will have to use an official detection algorithm incorporating more than 80 variables.

France is following suit. By the end of 2025, the ANJ will have finalised its own algorithm for use by the entire market. The goal is national implementation in 2026.

Support for at-risk gamblers

Identifying players at risk is not enough. They need to be supported, and as early as possible. This was the focus of the third round table, where the testimonies of operators (Barrière, FDJ), clinicians (ARPEJ, CSAPA) and institutional representatives converged: the bond of trust, personalised messages and interdisciplinarity are the keys to successful support.

ARPEJ’s SELF programme offers an innovative solution based on self-tests and progressive digital monitoring. The results are encouraging: 60% of participants become abstinent after six months.

But professionals are also sounding the alarm: minors accessing games via adult accounts is an increasingly common problem.

Future reforms

In her closing speech, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin proposed a number of ways in which regulation could evolve:

• Strengthening research: a reform of research funding is under discussion, with increased funding entrusted directly to the OFDT.
• Better identification at points of sale: an experiment with identified games is under way, and the creation of a player card or QR code is being considered, following the example of the Nordic countries.
• Increased repression: in 2026, the ANJ intends to step up its controls and sanctions to force operators to commit themselves.
• Changes to the legislative framework: stricter controls on advertising and sponsorship and the introduction of a loss limiter for 18-25 year-olds are among the key proposals.

One ambition: to build a sustainable French model

The ANJ’s ambition is clear: to build a French gambling model that is more responsible, more inclusive and more sustainable. The 2026 football World Cup is seen as an opportunity to strike hard with a national awareness-raising campaign.But beyond the technical tools and legislative texts, the real change is cultural. Destroying the myth of easy money, repositioning the game as entertainment rather than a performance challenge, and rebuilding the links between economic players, institutions and associations: these are the real pillars of a model for the future.