A recent study into gambling practices among 15-17 year-olds reveals a significant increase in underage gambling in France, despite the fact that it is legally prohibited. The data show a shift in use towards circuits that are difficult to control.
A worrying increase despite the ban
In France, gambling is strictly forbidden to minors. Yet gambling practices are on the increase. A recent survey conducted by ARPEJ with the support of the French National Gaming Authority reveals that in 2025, 42.6% of young people aged 15 to 17 will have gambled, a significant increase on the figure for 2021. Behind this figure, one thing is clear: minors’ access to gambling has not disappeared, it has shifted.
For the Autorité nationale des jeux, this trend is a wake-up call. Its chairman, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, warns:
‘This increase in gambling by minors is a cause for concern. The earlier people start gambling, the greater the risk of addiction.’
The legal channel, a system under close surveillance
According to the Association Française des Jeux en Ligne, which represents the majority of licensed operators, the French legal framework is based on a particularly strict control architecture. The association reiterates its zero-tolerance policy towards underage gambling.
In the regulated digital world, there is no such thing as anonymity. Opening an account requires full verification, including proof of identity, personal bank details and proof of address. Every player is identified, traced and authenticated.
‘No minor can have a permanent account without having assumed an identity and circumvented the technical devices with the help of an adult’, insists the organisation.
In other words, when fraud does occur, it almost always involves family complicity. The study also stresses the central role of family and friends in the introduction to gambling, which is often trivialised through ticket purchases or activities perceived as harmless.
The digital paradox
Public debate often focuses on digital platforms. Yet the data reveals a paradox. Legal online gambling appears to be the most controlled environment, while the real blind spot is the illegal market.
The illegal market is growing rapidly. A recent study suggests that there are 5.4 million players on these unauthorised offers, an increase of 35% in two years. A figure that is now exceeding a critical threshold.
In these clandestine spaces, there are no age controls, no identity checks and no restrictions on practices. Minors can access them freely, often exposed to massive advertising on social networks or via applications that are difficult to trace. The AFJEL is talking about a veritable digital Wild West, where operators thrive unregulated.
Gambling among teenagers, a societal phenomenon
Beyond the technical issue, specialists are observing a cultural mutation. Gambling is becoming an integral part of young people’s daily lives, on the borderline between entertainment, competition and digital consumption.
The survey highlights two decisive factors: exposure to advertising and early familiarisation within the family. The first contact with games is no longer made in specific places, but in a continuum of digital experiences.
For Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, ‘young people’s first encounter with this product should be delayed, not encouraged’.
Another lesson that is often overlooked is that, despite the digitalisation of uses, the physical network remains a preferred point of access for minors. Scratch cards and lottery tickets continue to circulate in contexts where controls can be circumvented. Regulation cannot therefore be limited to the digital environment. It requires tighter controls throughout the distribution chain.
A call for a firmer public response to illegal supply
Faced with the rise of the illegal market, legal operators are calling for an intensification of blocking measures: faster closures of illegal sites, increased pressure on technical and financial intermediaries, and the effective abolition of promotions for these offers.
They are also calling for public health studies to make a clear distinction between practices in the regulated market and those in the illegal circuit, to avoid any statistical confusion.
One of the key findings of the survey is the indirect involvement of adults. In many cases, access to gambling is via a loaned account, a tolerated participation or a purchase made on behalf of a minor. The authorities now believe that prevention must change target. Informing young people is no longer enough; families need to be alerted to their legal and educational responsibilities.
A long-term battle to protect vulnerable groups
The rise in gambling among minors is not the result of a single failure of regulation; it reveals a rapid reshaping of digital uses, exploited by particularly agile illegal players. With sophisticated control mechanisms on the legal side and persistent grey areas on the Internet, the protection of minors now depends on a global strategy combining technology, education and legal action.
France is facing the classic challenge of digital societies: regulating a space that, by its very nature, knows no borders.