French regulator expresses “serious concerns” over FDJ and PMU marketing practices
ANJ highlights increased ad spend and prevalence of social media marketing by licensed operators in first review
French gambling regulator ANJ has questioned the marketing strategies of French national lottery operator FDJ and parimutuel betting firm PMU.
In its first review of French gambling marketing, the ANJ said it had “serious concerns” about marketing used by the two operators, which have a monopoly on lottery-based gaming and betting on horseracing respectively.
In particular, the regulator cited previous cases in the French Council of State and the European Court of Justice which asserted that advertising by monopoly operators “must remain measured and strictly limited to what is necessary to channel consumers into controlled gaming networks”.
The regulator said: “The ANJ will be vigilant to ensure that any advertising or promotional campaign of these operators does not hide behind arguments of general interest to give a positive image of the game or to justify it.”
The ANJ, which was appointed regulator of the French market in 2020, differs from prior regulator ARJEL in that it has authority to oversee and enforce changes to the operations of the two state-owned monopoly operators for the first time.
In addition, as part of the ANJ’s strengthened regulatory mandate, France’s 14 licensed operators are obliged to submit their promotional strategy each year for approval by the ANJ.
The regulator then assesses the strategy against its own objectives of preventing gambling addiction and protecting minors, with the aim of identifying any issues and generating a long-term analysis of French gambling marketing.
According to ANJ data, operator advertising budgets rose by 26% year-on-year during 2020, with French operators launching major marketing campaigns targeting the European Football Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
However, in both cases, these events were rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. French gambling market revenue has since rebounded after a severe downturn in the first two quarters of 2020.
The regulator also established two more areas of concern in licensed operator strategies. Firstly, the increased use of social media networks in digital marketing including Snapchat and TikTok, networks which the ANJ said could be accessed by minors.
Secondly, the ANJ expressed concern over usage of bonusing and direct personalised marketing to players by licensed operators.
“The ANJ will be very careful to ensure that the points of vigilance that it has identified are the subject of special attention on the part of operators with regard to their obligations in terms of the prevention of excessive gambling and the protection of minors,” the regulator concluded.