ARJEL submits proposals for stricter egaming legislation
Regulator claims technology advances require stricter controls to combat gambling addiction " reveals that 200,000 players in the country gamble excessively
ARJEL has published its first-ever investigation into problem gambling in France, and proposed a series of 33 amendments to the country’s egaming legislation to effectively combat addiction.
The report features the first breakdown of the prevalence of gambling in the French market, revealing that around 47.8% of the adult population gambled over the course of 2010 “ the year the market opened. Of this number 10.9% of players were classed as regular gamblers (playing more than 52 times in a year), while 4.7% were considered high spenders, who deposited over 500 each year.
Around 22.7% of those who gamble online – 1.3% of the total population “ were viewed as showing a tendency towards problem gambling. The report claimed that 0.4m were at moderate risk, with a further 0.2m playing excessively “ though ARJEL noted that the findings were based on “a small sample” of online players.
As a result of its findings ARJEL has submitted 33 proposals to the French government, which it believes will leave it better-equipped to tackle addiction. The body argued that technological developments, such as the rise of social casino games, smartphone and tablet gambling, and connected televisions has prompted changes to player behavior, necessitating changes to current laws.
These include stricter controls on advertising, such as power to block sites which advertise unlicensed operators, and a ban on sending marketing material to players during periods of self-exclusion.
The regulator has also suggested that operators could use their marketing channels to run campaigns warning players of the dangers of gambling addiction, and make links to information sites on problem gaming more accessible across web and mobile platforms.
Online gambling companies would also be prompted to display pop-ups notifying players when they have played for more than four consecutive hours or if they make more deposits over the course of a day.
Security would be further bolstered by a streamlined procedure for adding banned games to a database which would be monitored by ARJEL on a weekly basis, while this list would be made available to members of the public through an application process. Operators would also be required to log player activity so that signs of compulsive gambling could be identified early.