“Gaming addiction”, “Non-payment of winnings”, “bank fraud”. Since Monday, the National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has launched a national campaign against illegal online gambling sites, particularly on social networks. Between three and four million people would have played on these sites in 2023, with online casino sites being the most popular. “One in two consumers of illegal offers are unaware of their illegal nature,” according to the ANJ.
For the State, the shortfall would amount to one billion euros. Even if the sector is still doing well: In the first half of 2024, the overall gross gaming product (excluding casinos and gaming clubs) increased by 3.8% compared to 2023 to reach 5.5 billion euros. The sector is particularly buoyed by the good performance of La Française des Jeux and online gaming operators.
New record for gross gaming revenue
Online sports betting notably achieved a record performance, allowing the entire online market to exceed its record level of gross revenue for 2021. The number of players, in strong growth, has never been so important for the online market during the first half of the year, with more than 3.2 million unique players.
For the player, the risk of scam is significant. “Unlike the legal online game offered by the FDJ and approved sites, the illegal offer presents no guarantee of reliability in gaming operations, cheating on these sites being frequent,” estimates the ANJ. Furthermore, this offer does not offer any of the player protection mechanisms present in the legal offer (absence of protection in the event of a dispute, non-verification of the majority, etc.).
2,365 links to illegal sites blocked since 2022
According to official figures, the illegal offer of online gambling represents between 5% and 11% of the overall gambling market in France. “It is particularly damaging for the players who consume it: addiction, over-indebtedness, family problems, etc.,” underlines Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the ANJ. 79% of the turnover of the illegal supply market is generated by players with problematic practices. “This parallel market constitutes real financial support for multiple international criminal organizations,” she concludes.
Our file on Online Games
Since March 2022, the ANJ has had the power to administratively block and delist illegal gambling sites. 506 administrative acts of blocking were issued, resulting in the blocking of 2,365 URL addresses. That is almost twice as much in two and a half years as in twelve years of judicial blocking procedure. “However, the ANJ remains faced with the persistent difficulty of their rapid reappearance. » In particular the phenomenon known as “mirror sites”, with the creation by the illicit operator of real copies of the initial sites only distinguishable from the first by another URL address.
