ANJ secures consumer law victory in French courts
Regulatory body sees off appeal from online gaming association as Court of State finds gambling transactions come under consumer law jurisdiction
French gambling regulatory authority ANJ has secured a victory in the French court system over the country’s online gaming association (AFJEL).
In April 2019, AFJEL filed an appeal with the Council of State regarding a statement from the ANJ (then ARJEL) which indicated the body could prosecute operators who failed to adhere to consumer law in the country.
The appeal implored the Council of State to cancel the ANJ’s powers to enforce consumer laws on online gambling firms, and to charge the ANJ with a €4,000 fee related to the administrative justice code.
In a session on 24 March, the Council of State concluded that online gambling operators act as ‘professionals’ and customers act as ‘consumers’ in transactions, under the country’s consumer code, and therefore rejected AFJEL’s appeal.
In response to the Court of State’s decision, ANJ said the ruling would allow the regulator to continue to monitor the compliance of its operators with a wide-net approach.
The ANJ said: “The authority was also not mistaken when it said that authorised operators can, on this occasion, offer gaming services.
“Contracts between players and operators are therefore subject to the provisions of the consumer code relating to unfair terms and unfair commercial practices.
“The scope of the decision is not limited to the sole consumer code to which the criticised deliberation related.
“Thus, the operator who infringes the provisions of the civil code or the penal code or any other legislative or regulatory text could be prosecuted before the ANJ sanctions commission, if this results in a violation of the objectives of which the Authority must monitor compliance,” the ANJ concluded.