TITLE: France's National Gambling Authority Launches Algorithm to Identify Excessive Players
BODY:
On May 13, 2026, the National Gambling Authority (Autorité Nationale des Jeux — ANJ) unveiled an algorithm designed to identify excessive players in France's online gambling and account-based betting markets. The tool represents a central priority of the ANJ's 2024-2026 strategic plan focused on reducing excessive and pathological gambling.
The algorithm's initial findings are concerning. It identified approximately 600,000 players with a high probability of excessive gambling behaviour, representing 8.7 percent of the total account-based player population. These excessive players generated €1.2 billion in gross gaming revenue (PBJ), accounting for 60 percent of total PBJ — a proportion that has increased consistently since 2023. Among these, approximately 300,000 players are identified as manifestly excessive, requiring immediate operator intervention.
The algorithm incorporates 23 risk indicators relating to financial movements, play moderators, gaming activity and frequency, and player history. Players are classified into four categories: recreational, moderate risk, excessive, and manifestly excessive. The tool's performance has been validated against the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (ICJE) under oversight of a scientific committee of recognised researchers. The ANJ notes this is the first such algorithm available in Europe, with similar initiatives underway in Spain and the Netherlands.
Operators identified only 89,000 excessive players in 2025, triple the 31,000 identified in 2024, yet this remains insufficient relative to player populations and prevalence studies. The ANJ is making the algorithm available to operators as a voluntary compliance tool and will use it as a reference point to track trends. In 2027, during annual review of excessive gambling prevention action plans, the ANJ will compare operator-identified excessive players against algorithm-detected figures. Operators are expected to prioritise identifying the 300,000 manifestly excessive players and work towards detecting all 600,000 identified by the algorithm.