French regulator rolls out algorithm to detect excessive players

• According to the ANJ, more than 600,000 online players, around 8.7% of France’s online player population, are classified as excessive gamblers, far above operator-reported figures.
• The regulator said those players generated €1.2bn in online gross gaming revenue in 2025, representing around 60% of online GGR.
• The algorithm, validated against the ICJE benchmark and certified by a scientific committee, is the first of its kind developed by a European regulator, per the ANJ.

France’s gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), presented a scientifically validated algorithm to licensed online operators yesterday on Tuesday 12 May 2026, designed to sharpen detection of problem gamblers as part of an intensifying push to reduce excessive play ahead of a 2027 target.

Identification gap

The scale of the problem underscores why the ANJ has moved to develop its own tool. According to the regulator’s own analysis, operators identified 89,000 excessive gamblers in 2025, while the ANJ counted more than 600,000, representing around 8.7% of the total online player population.

The ANJ said those players generated €1.2bn in online gross gaming revenue, which the regulator estimates represents around 60% of online GGR, per Le Figaro.

The disparity between operator-reported and regulatory figures is not new. In its 2024–2026 strategic plan, the ANJ set reducing the number of excessive gamblers as its central regulatory priority. Data cited by the regulator showed that problem gamblers accounted for 38.3% of gross gaming revenue in 2019, with excessive players alone responsible for 20.7% of that share, according to ANJ figures.

Last year, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the ANJ, said:

“We cannot pivot our model without a massive identification effort commensurate with the public health issues at stake.”

She said:

“The objective is to deconstruct the underlying idea that there aren’t that many excessive gamblers. Yes, there are. There is a genuine population of excessive gamblers who represent too large a share of this industry’s turnover. Operators cannot afford to be indifferent to this.”

How the tool works

The ANJ has been developing the algorithm since 2024, according to the regulator, building it from the extensive database of activity across online accounts held with licensed operators, the Française des Jeux (FDJ) and the PMU.

In total, 23 indicators were selected, covering financial movements, gaming activity and play frequency over a rolling six-month period.

Thomas Delafosse, data analytics coordinator at the ANJ, said:

“We also looked at the use of self-exclusion mechanisms — a very good indicator that the player has encountered difficulties.”

The tool produces a risk score across four categories: recreational player, moderate risk, excessive and manifestly excessive. Its performance was validated against the ICJE (Indice Canadien du Jeu Excessif), a recognised international benchmark, and certified by a scientific committee comprising recognised researchers. The ANJ described the tool as the first regulator-developed problem gambler detection algorithm in Europe.

Operators may use the algorithm alongside their existing detection tools. The regulator was explicit, however, that current operator efforts are inadequate, describing identification to date as “insufficient” and the need to address it as “urgent.”

Pressure on operators

The algorithm’s launch follows the ANJ’s review of responsible gambling action plans submitted by all licensed French operators between November 2025 and March 2026.

Operators flagged 89,000 excessive players in 2025, up from 31,000 in 2024, progress the regulator acknowledged as falling well short of the scale implied by its own data.

Two of France’s largest operators, FDJ and PMU, had their action plans approved with conditions, including a requirement to strengthen identification of at-risk players in retail settings. FDJ United reported a 3.2% year-on-year revenue decline in Q1 2026, partly reflecting the mounting regulatory and tax pressures reshaping the French market.

The timing adds further context. The ANJ has identified the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled for June and July 2026, as a specific risk period, warning it could sharply increase gambling exposure among vulnerable groups, including 18-to-24-year-olds and existing excessive players, per the regulator.

The ANJ’s algorithm represents a structural escalation in France’s approach to responsible gambling compliance. Operators that fail to align their detection rates with the regulator’s estimates face direct scrutiny, mandatory plan revisions and potential sanctions as the 2027 reduction target draws closer.