The French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) is cautioning consumers about unlawful gambling websites that are utilizing the names of legitimate operators to promote their services on Facebook.
The ANJ states that they have observed some unlawful operators employing this strategy to mislead players and entice them into wagering on their websites. The regulatory body monitors Facebook daily and collaborates with the social media giant to address this problem.
To date, the ANJ has reported approximately 400 website addresses to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, leading to the suspension of 137 user accounts on the social network.
The ANJ emphasizes that the primary targets of the unlawful websites are the Barrière and JOA groups. Individuals are using the brands owned by these authorized operators to create counterfeit promotional images to tempt players to visit unlicensed websites that are not associated with them.
These images frequently contain links to fake download pages that claim to be from legitimate operators’ mobile applications. However, players are actually accessing unlawful websites.
At present, any form of online casino is prohibited in France.
Online sports wagering and equine racing betting are provided by authorized operators, while authorized gambling houses are also permitted.
The ANJ cautions that wagering through unauthorized websites presents several dangers to players. These hazards include the inability to collect winnings, payment deception, theft of personal details, and a lack of protection in case of disagreements.
The regulatory body stated: “If you have any questions regarding the legality of the gambling site you are about to place a bet on, please consult the list of websites approved by the ANJ.” “You can also examine the blacklist of websites that the ANJ has blocked administratively.
“We encourage anyone who encounters false advertising to report it.”
The value of illicit gambling in France is estimated at €1.5 billion annually.
The warning follows the ANJ’s announcement last month that the illicit gambling market in France could be worth as much as €1.5 billion (£1.28 billion/$1.62 billion). It stated that this would represent more than 10% of the country’s total annual betting turnover.
The ANJ’s research identified 510 unlawful websites that generated traffic. Of these, only 21 websites generated 60% of illegal gambling traffic.
A study by PwC estimated that total gambling revenue generated by illicit gambling is between €748 million and €1.5 billion. This represents 5% to 11% of the total gambling market, which reached a record €12.9 billion in 2022.