France Gambling Laws 2025: Complete Regulatory Guide

Legal Status Summary

France operates a partially liberalized gambling market under the regulatory supervision of the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). The current framework, established by the 2010 gambling law and updated in 2020, permits licensed operators to offer:

• Online sports betting (including live in-play betting)
• Horse racing betting (pari-mutuel and fixed-odds)
• Online poker (tournaments and cash games)

The French gambling market generated €14.0 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024, making it the fourth-largest in the EU after Italy, the UK, and Germany. Online gambling accounts for approximately 22% of total revenue, constrained by the online casino prohibition.

Land-Based Gambling

Land-based gambling is legal and well-established in France:

• Casinos: Approximately 200 licensed land-based casinos offering table games, slot machines, and poker; operated under municipal concessions
• Gaming halls (cercles de jeu): Private clubs in Paris and select cities offering casino-style games
• Lotteries: State-controlled through Française des Jeux (FDJ), partially privatized in 2019 but with state retaining majority control
• Horse racing: Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) operates betting on horse racing both online and through retail outlets
• Betting shops: PMU retail locations and licensed sports betting shops

Regulators & Licensing Model

Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ)

The ANJ, established in 2020 through the merger of the online gambling regulator ARJEL and land-based regulator, is headquartered in Paris. The ANJ's responsibilities include:

• Issuing and supervising licenses for sports betting and poker
• Overseeing state-controlled lotteries (FDJ) and horse racing betting (PMU)
• Monitoring compliance with advertising regulations
• Enforcing responsible gambling obligations
• Coordinating self-exclusion systems
• Taking enforcement action against unlicensed operators
• Blocking unlicensed gambling sites through ISP orders
• Supervising land-based casinos and gaming machines

As of January 2025, the ANJ has issued over 15 licenses for online sports betting and 8 licenses for online poker. License terms typically run for five years and are renewable upon compliance review.

Licensing Requirements

Operators seeking a French gambling license (for permitted verticals) must demonstrate:

• Legal establishment: Company presence in France or another EU jurisdiction with tax compliance
• Financial stability: Adequate capitalization, financial guarantees, and segregated player funds
• Technical compliance: Server infrastructure within France or approved EU locations; certified gaming systems
• Responsible gambling: Implementation of deposit limits, self-exclusion integration, reality checks, and intervention protocols
• Data protection: GDPR compliance and secure data storage
• AML/KYC: Robust customer verification, transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity reporting
• Advertising compliance: Adherence to strict French advertising regulations

License holders must pay annual supervision fees and are subject to regular audits. The ANJ has actively enforced compliance, issuing fines totaling over €20 million collectively to operators since 2020 for violations including advertising breaches, inadequate responsible gambling measures, and KYC failures.

State-Controlled Entities

Two state-controlled entities dominate specific verticals:

• Française des Jeux (FDJ): Operates lottery products, scratch cards, and sports betting; partially privatized in 2019 with French state retaining 21.9% stake and regulatory protections
• Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU): Holds monopoly on pari-mutuel horse racing betting; operates online and through extensive retail network

What's Allowed

Online Gambling Products

Product-Specific Restrictions

Sports Betting: Live in-play betting is permitted but subject to restrictions on certain bet types. Betting on French amateur sports leagues and underage sporting events is prohibited. The ANJ maintains integrity monitoring to detect match-fixing.

Horse Racing: PMU maintains pari-mutuel monopoly, while private operators may offer fixed-odds betting on horse racing events. Coordination between systems ensures market integrity.

Online Poker: Ring segregation applies—French-licensed poker operators can only pool liquidity with players in other jurisdictions if reciprocal agreements exist (currently limited to Spain, Portugal, and Italy for some operators).

Liberalization Proposal

In March 2025, the French government announced plans to introduce legislation liberalizing online casino games. Key elements of the proposal include:

• Permitting online slots, roulette, blackjack, and other casino games through licensed operators
• New licensing regime with application fees, ongoing supervision costs, and stricter responsible gambling requirements than current sports betting/poker frameworks
• Higher tax rates expected (potentially 25-30% on gross gaming revenue)
• Enhanced advertising restrictions specific to casino products
• Implementation timeline: legislation potentially passed by late 2025, licensing process in early 2026, market opening mid-to-late 2026

As of January 2025, this remains a legislative proposal, and online casino remains prohibited pending enactment.

Player Legality

French residents aged 18 or older may legally participate in online sports betting, horse racing betting, and poker through ANJ-licensed operators. Players face no criminal penalties for using licensed services.

Playing on unlicensed platforms—including foreign-licensed online casinos—is not explicitly criminalized for players, but the ANJ strongly discourages such activity and actively blocks access to unlicensed sites. Players using unlicensed operators lack legal recourse if disputes arise.

Cross-Border Play

The legal status of French residents accessing gambling services licensed in other EU countries remains ambiguous. France takes a restrictive position, arguing that operators must hold French licenses to offer services to French residents. The EU Commission has pressured France to liberalize its market, citing freedom of service provisions, contributing to the online casino liberalization proposal.

Advertising & Affiliate Rules

France imposes strict advertising regulations designed to minimize gambling exposure and protect vulnerable populations.

Advertising Restrictions

• Television and radio: Gambling advertising prohibited during certain hours and in programs likely to be viewed by minors
• Sports sponsorships: Permitted but subject to approval; must include responsible gambling messages
• Targeting minors: Absolute prohibition on advertising directed at or appealing to persons under 18
• Celebrity endorsements: Restricted if celebrity has youth appeal
• Misleading claims: Prohibition on suggesting gambling as income source or financial solution
• Bonus advertising: Must clearly state terms and conditions; exaggerated claims prohibited

Mandatory Advertising Content

All gambling advertising must include:

• Clear age restriction notice (18+)
• Responsible gambling message
• Warning: "Jouer comporte des risques" (Gambling involves risks) or similar approved language
• Reference to problem gambling support resources

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is permitted for licensed verticals (sports betting, poker) but subject to the same advertising restrictions. Affiliates must:

• Only promote ANJ-licensed operators
• Include mandatory responsible gambling messages and age warnings
• Ensure complete transparency of bonus terms and conditions
• Avoid targeting minors or vulnerable populations
• Register with operators and comply with compliance monitoring

The ANJ holds operators responsible for affiliate conduct. Non-compliant affiliate partnerships can result in fines and license sanctions.

Payments & Banking Restrictions

France enforces payment controls as part of its regulatory framework:

Site Blocking

The ANJ maintains an updated list of unlicensed gambling sites and issues blocking orders to French internet service providers. As of January 2025, over 7,000 domains have been blocked, with new sites added regularly.

The blocking system targets both unlicensed casino sites (prohibited in France) and unlicensed sports betting/poker operators competing with licensed French entities.

Payment Blocking

While France does not implement payment blocking as aggressively as some EU countries, the ANJ has begun coordinating with payment processors to identify and block transactions to known unlicensed operators, particularly for online casino activity.

Permitted Payment Methods

Licensed operators may accept:

• Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Carte Bancaire)
• Bank transfers
• E-wallets (PayPal, Skrill, Neteller) where compliant with French regulations
• Prepaid vouchers (Paysafecard) subject to identification requirements

All payment methods must support identity verification and transaction monitoring per AML requirements.

Player Limits

French regulations require licensed operators to implement responsible gambling tools including:

• Mandatory deposit limits that players must set at account opening
• Optional loss limits and session time limits
• Operator monitoring of player behavior with intervention requirements for concerning patterns

Enforcement & Penalties

The ANJ employs multiple enforcement mechanisms targeting unlicensed operators and non-compliant licensed entities.

Actions Against Unlicensed Operators

• Domain blocking: ISP-level blocking orders preventing French players from accessing unlicensed sites
• Search engine de-listing: Requests to Google and other search engines to remove unlicensed gambling sites from French search results
• Payment disruption: Coordination with payment processors to block transactions
• Advertising bans: Prohibition on advertising by unlicensed operators in French media
• Fines: Administrative penalties for operators identified as targeting French players without authorization

Penalties for Licensed Operators

The ANJ has issued substantial penalties for compliance violations:

• Fines ranging from €50,000 to €5 million depending on violation severity
• License suspension for serious or repeated violations
• License revocation in cases of systemic non-compliance
• Public warnings that damage operator reputation

Notable 2024-2025 enforcement actions include:

• €2.5 million fine for advertising violations targeting minors
• €1.8 million penalty for inadequate KYC procedures
• Multiple fines for responsible gambling failures

Responsible Gambling Tools & Self-Exclusion

Self-Exclusion Systems

France operates multiple self-exclusion systems rather than a unified national register:

• Online gambling (sports betting/poker): Each licensed operator maintains a self-exclusion register; players must exclude individually from each operator (no centralized database like Germany's OASIS or Netherlands' Cruks)
• FDJ (lotteries): Separate self-exclusion system for state lottery products
• Land-based casinos: Fichier des Interdits de Jeux (FIJ), managed by the Ministry of Interior; individuals can voluntarily register or be added by court order or third-party request (family members); exclusion applies to all land-based casinos nationwide

The fragmented nature of French self-exclusion systems has been criticized by consumer protection advocates. Legislative proposals for a unified national self-exclusion database have been discussed but not yet implemented as of January 2025.

Mandatory Responsible Gambling Features

ANJ-licensed operators must implement:

• Deposit limits: Mandatory limits that players set during account registration
• Session limits: Optional time-based limits for gambling sessions
• Reality checks: Notifications at regular intervals during extended play
• Self-exclusion options: Temporary (minimum periods) and indefinite exclusion
• Cool-off periods: Short-term account suspensions (24 hours to several weeks)
• Player monitoring: Detection of concerning behavior patterns with mandatory interventions

Problem Gambling Resources

France maintains support infrastructure for problem gambling:

• Joueurs Info Service: National helpline 09 74 75 13 13; confidential support and counseling
• SEDAP (Support and Guidance for Pathological Players): Specialized treatment centers
• ANJ educational resources: Information and self-assessment tools on ANJ website

CS2 / Skin Gambling Notes

France's approach to CS2 skin gambling and esports betting is shaped by its strict gambling regulatory framework.

Esports Betting

Betting on esports matches through ANJ-licensed sports betting operators is legal and regulated. Licensed operators offer markets on Counter-Strike tournaments, League of Legends, Dota 2, and other competitive gaming events. These bets are subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional sports betting.

French esports betting regulations prohibit betting on matches involving French amateur teams or players under 18, consistent with broader sports betting integrity rules.

Skin Gambling

Third-party skin gambling platforms—where players wager CS2 skins on casino-style games or match outcomes—operate in a legally precarious position in France:

• Likely unlicensed gambling: If skins are deemed to have monetary value (tradeable on Steam Market or third-party sites), skin gambling platforms would require ANJ licensing, which none currently hold
• Online casino prohibition: To the extent skin gambling involves casino-style games (roulette, slots, crash games), it falls under France's online casino prohibition and cannot be licensed even if operators applied
• Site blocking: The ANJ includes known skin gambling sites in its blocking orders, preventing French players from accessing these platforms
• Youth protection concerns: Skin gambling sites often lack age verification, creating particular concern given France's strong youth protection policies

In December 2025, Valve's policy update prohibiting CS2 teams from displaying skin betting logos during official events aligns with French regulatory concerns about normalizing gambling to young esports audiences.

Loot Boxes

France has not formally classified loot boxes as gambling, but the ANJ has published educational materials warning about gambling-like mechanics in video games. Legislative proposals to regulate loot boxes have been introduced, particularly focusing on games marketed to minors, but no comprehensive regulation has been enacted as of January 2025.

The French government has expressed support for EU-level coordination on loot box regulation rather than purely national measures.

Sources & Further Reading

This guide is compiled from official regulatory sources, industry reports, and legal analyses. For the most current information, consult:

• Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ): www.anj.fr – Official regulator website with licensing information, compliance guidelines, and enforcement updates (French/English)
• French Gambling Law: Loi n° 2010-476 (May 12, 2010) and subsequent amendments
• Joueurs Info Service: www.joueurs-info-service.fr – Problem gambling support and resources
• FDJ (Française des Jeux): www.groupefdj.com – State lottery operator information
• European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA): Industry data and policy analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: January 2025