ANJ launches information campaign to combat online casinos

The French gambling regulator ANJ has launched an information campaign to combat unlicensed online casinos.

The “100% winning?” campaign will aim to remind French consumers that online casinos are illegal in the country and warn the public about the risks of black market offerings.

The messaging drive comes after the ANJ outlined that undermining the black market would form the centrepiece of its 2024-2026 strategic plan.

ANJ president Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin said: “The illegal supply of online gambling represents between 5% and 11% of the overall gambling market in France. It is particularly harmful for the players who consume it: addiction, over-indebtedness, family problems, etc.

“This parallel market constitutes a real financial support for multiple international criminal organisations. This is why the ANJ is determined to use all the levers at its disposal to stop this illegal supply.” 

The regulator said studies have shown that half of all French players are unaware online casinos are completely illegal.

As such, the campaign will involve ads that imitate the look of online casino sites featuring colourful and attractive visuals.

These ads would then remind consumers that the sites are illegal, as well as their associated risks.

The fully digital campaign went live on Monday (7 October).

Ads will include Snapchat and Twitch ads, interactive ads on gaming apps, web banners, as well as testimonial videos on TikTok.

The ANJ warned that unlicensed gambling sites are liable to cheat, lack player protection mechanisms, and can steal personal data or install malicious computer programmes.

ANJ anti-black market strategy

The information campaign is one leg of the regulator’s wider strategy against the black market.

In the past, the ANJ has relied on its powers to administratively block and delist illegal gambling sites to combat the black market.

Since March 2022, the regulator has issued 506 administrative blocking acts, resulting in the blocking of 2,365 URLs.

Due to these new powers, the ANJ has blocked nearly twice as many URLs in two and half years as in the previous 12 years of blocking orders implemented by the courts.

One persistent problem has been the rapid reappearance of blocked URLs through mirror sites.

These are cloned copies of the blocked sites that are distinguishable from the original only by a different URL address.

To buttress its blocking strategy, the ANJ launched several other anti-black market initiatives.

These include intervening with businesses involved in the operation of the illegal site such as payment providers, tech suppliers, search engines and socials networks to create new methods of undermining the sites.  

The ANJ also said it has intensified cooperation with national judicial authorities and European governments.

The final aspect of this strategy is a series of information campaigns aimed at various audiences, with the ANJ’s recent campaign being the latest example of this effort.

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