France remains one of Europe’s most closely watched gambling markets, with online casino regulation continuing to dominate industry debate heading into the second half of 2026.
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, President of French gambling regulator ANJ, has spoken candidly about the challenges surrounding iCasino regulation in the country.
Her comments came as part of an exit interview examining the state of the French market, touching on illegal gambling growth, major operator influence, and regulatory balance.
Falque-Pierrotin acknowledged the tension between restrictive legal compliance requirements and the unintended growth of illegal operators that such restrictions can encourage.
“Indeed, it’s a question that can be asked,” she said, “there is a balance to be found between the illegal market and the constraints imposed on legal operators.”
She pointed to the Netherlands as a cautionary example, noting that tax rises introduced at the start of 2025 contributed to illegal operators gaining ground in that market.
The role of FDJ in France’s gambling landscape was also scrutinised, given the operator generates roughly half of the entire market’s revenues through its lottery activities.
FDJ currently offers products that closely resemble online casino games in function, though they carry significantly lower RTP ratios than regulated iCasino products typically would.
The question of whether FDJ has a vested commercial interest in preventing online casino regulation was put to Falque-Pierrotin, particularly given its ownership of Kindred’s casino brands through FDJ United.
“We don’t reason that way and we are not the Competition Authority,” she responded. “FDJ United is an extremely powerful operator that generates half the market’s revenues. Our only concern is that it acts within the parameters of its status as a monopoly operator.”
Falque-Pierrotin also highlighted work carried out by ANJ examining the retail activities of both FDJ and PMU, which until recently were largely conducted by anonymous players.
That anonymity had long frustrated land-based casinos and licensed online operators, who face stringent identity verification and KYC requirements that lottery retail operations historically avoided.
The disparity in regulatory demands between different types of operators remains a live issue, with licensed online platforms arguing they face an uneven competitive landscape as a result.
France has not yet moved to regulate online casino, making it one of the few major European markets where the vertical remains outside the legal framework entirely.
The continued growth of illegal iGaming platforms targeting French players adds urgency to the debate, with regulators and operators alike weighing the costs and benefits of opening the market.
