ARJEL cancels sports betting operator's licence
Aubsail SAS fails to meet regulator's data-reporting, payout and dual certification requirements
Sports betting operator Aubsail SAS’ licence has been revoked by French regulator Autorité de regulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL).
The regulator ruled the average amount of money paid to players by Aubsail SAS’s www.france-pari-sportif.fr site exceeded 85% between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first three quarters of 2012, according to a ruling published on ARJEL’s website. The 85% limit is imposed as a measure to reduce gambling addiction.
Aubsail SAS also failed to meet regulations requiring real-time data archiving on a server and was therefore unable to provide details regarding player identity and accounts to the regulator. ARJEL also noted the operator had failed to secure dual certification for its technology, required to prove player safety.
The operator is prohibited from taking any further bets or allowing new accounts to be opened on its www.france-pari-sportif.fr website, and has been ordered to refund all remaining deposits as well as unsettled bets to current customers. Although the website can still be accessed, this is solely to facilitate the repayment of registered players’ funds.
Aubsail SAS was awarded its licence in July 2011, but failed to supply two certification reports as required by July 2012. After issuing several warnings to the operator, ARJEL began an investigation into its operations last September.
While some operators have handed back their licences, a licence revocation is rare in France. Full Tilt’s former French subsidiary Rekop being stripped of dot.fr accreditation in January this year is the only other high-profile example of an operator having their licence revoked to-date.
In recent months the regulator has also imposed several restrictions on which sporting events are eligible to accept bets on. In January, regulations were imposed for handball and volleyball, following similar restrictions on football and basketball in December last year.
The changes ban customers from placing bets on matches which have no impact on whether a team qualifies for European competition, wins a league, or is promoted or relegated from a division. Customers are also banned from betting on matches where each team’s league position will not change regardless of the result.