Will you soon have to show your identity card to play the lottery or PMU? To better identify and protect excessive gamblers, the sector regulator wants to put an end to anonymity at points of sale, according to its strategic plan presented on Thursday.
L’National Gaming Authority (ANJ) is considering a way to identify these problem players but also minors in the 35,000 points of sale in the physical network, a “taboo of regulation” which must be tackled “in the face of the public health challenges of gambling addiction,” declared President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin during a press conference.
” That’s very good news “
The fight against gaming addiction could reach a new milestone. “The phenomenon of addiction has always existed but today these players are exposed to an industrial infrastructure, it is no longer an individual problem but a social problem,” laments Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin. “This is very good news,” says Thomas Gaon, psychologist specializing in gaming addiction at Marmottan hospital, who says he is “overwhelmed with requests”. “The players we receive started at 15 or 16 years old at the point of sale,” he says, adding that identification would also make it possible to rule out gambling bans.
At the same time, the ANJ will require online betting operators to more effectively remove excessive gamblers from their customers. The latest study on the subject, which dates back to 2019, estimates the number of players at risk at 1.4 million, including nearly 400,000 at a pathological level. The latter generate 21% of the sector’s turnover, according to this study by theGames Observatory. And the gambling ban file, which has 55,000 names transmitted to casinos and online gaming sites, receives 1,300 registration requests each month, with 25-35 year olds representing 50% of requests, warns Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin .