The media contracts of French-licensed bookmakers are to be examined and evaluated by a ‘working group’ reporting to l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) – France’s Unified Gambling Authority.

This week, ANJ announced that it had established its ‘working group of experts’ that will examine bookmaker’s planned marketing campaigns as part of the regulator’s ongoing review of advertising standards.

The initiative was previously announced in February, as the ANJ declared a public backlash against French bookmakers for the ‘oversaturation of adverts’ witnessed during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championships.

Responding to the backlash, ANJ President, Isabelle Falque Pierrotin ordered French operators to submit a six-month report outlining their upcoming advertising/marketing campaign with French media owners.

The working group has been tasked with reviewing the “supervision of these partnership or sponsorship contracts by gambling operators be dealt with within a dedicated working group , placed under the aegis of the ANJ , in tandem with the Ministry of Sports.”

The ANJ stated that the reviews will be undertaken in the context of the strong growth of sports betting, and as French media prepares to broadcast the major sporting events of the FIFA 2022 World Cup and the RFU Rugby World Cup that France will host in 2023, followed by the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  

 “The main objective of the working group is to put in place clear rules for partnership and sponsorship contracts with gambling operators before the start of the FIFA World Cup, next November.” – ANJ notified stakeholders.

Undertaking its review of contracts, the working group will focus on the prevention of excessive advertising and the protection of minors and vulnerable audiences from viewing gambling content. 

The working group will further provide best practices for operators and media owners to improve advertising campaigns and ensure that media contracts are responsible for French audiences. 

The ANJ maintains its previous warning that it ‘must see a vast improvement on advertising during World Cup 2022’ – a command that is critical to its ongoing assessment of French betting’s advertising standards. 

ANJ’s advertising review is supported by the French media agencies of ARPP – France’s Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority, and the ARCOM  the Audiovisual Communication Regulator.