January 13 – French gambling regulators have warned online gambling companies to keep their promotion budgets in check during the World Cup in June and July when there is expected to be an increase in betting.
The warning covers advertising and incentives offered to bettors.
SBC News reports the warning follows the assessment of 2026 Promotional Strategies by l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), which said that rising promotional investment required stricter oversight in order to “prevent any risk of excessive advertising exposure and the development of excessive gambling practices.”
Betting and gaming operators have already increased their promotional budgets for 2026 which will see increased betting with both the Winter Olympic Games and the World Cup taking place – fuelling a competitive market for online operators to grow their reach.
The ANJ said regulatory expectations would not be relaxed but would maintain “stringent requirements” on licensed operators, saying “for the first time, it has required all operators not to exceed the total budget they have declared and to strictly limit any reallocation of spending within that budget.”
The regulator added that this obligation is enforceable, warning that “this requirement may, where appropriate, give rise to specific supervisory inspections.”
The ANJ began monitoring the promotional spend of France’s 17 licensed bookmakers following what it said was excessive promotion around the 2021 Euro championships. A new 15% tax on marketing spend has been introduced.
Operators are forecasting a 25% year-on-year increase in promotional spending to €785 million, covering both marketing expenditure (€319 million) and financial incentives (€466 million).
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