French regulator unveils new and improved self-exclusion platform
ANJ-led service will allow players to exclude from all gambling sites under streamlined process
French gambling regulator ANJ has launched an upgraded online self-exclusion platform aimed at streamlining the self-exclusion process for French players.
Consumers are no longer required to visit a police station to self-exclude from French-licensed operators, with all registrations taking place online from now on.
As part of the ANJ’s expanded regulatory remit, the self-exclusion service now covers land-based casinos, as well as sports betting, horseracing betting and online poker venues licensed by ANJ.
Services operated by French national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) and pari-mutuel horseracing operator PMU are also included as part of the service.
The new three-step registration process includes a telephone verification of the player’s identity once a request to self-exclude is received.
The online process, which is designed to reduce the stigma surrounding self-exclusion, takes a maximum of two weeks to complete.
Players can self-exclude permanently but are given the option to remove the self-exclusion every three years under the new scheme.
The new regulator has been in control of the national self-exclusion register since the end of December, having taken ownership from the French Ministry of the Interior.
Under the old system, users intending to self-exclude had attend an interview at a police station with a local correspondent of the Central Race and Gambling Service (SCCJ) in order to finalise their registration.
The average delay to the process was a month and a half, with many players dissuaded from doing so due to the bureaucracy involved.
“This new service should make it easier for players to have recourse to gambling self-exclusion. Problematic gamblers think about it, they hear about it, but if the process is too complicated, they give up,” ANJ psychiatrist and addictologist Mario Blaise said.
“We can hope that the dematerialisation and management by the ANJ will enable those who wish to do so to use it earlier and more quickly. We know that reducing access to the gambling offer is an important step for players in difficulty,” he added.
The ANJ has revealed that 38,500 French citizens are currently self-excluded from gambling sites.