Published on: May 15, 2026, 06:09h.
Updated on: May 15, 2026, 06:09h.
- French regulator indicates that a significant portion of online gambling revenue stems from high-risk players
- ANJ’s algorithm flagged 600,000 potential problem gamblers in 2025
- The findings raise questions about the gambling industry’s dependency on high-value clientele
Recent statistics from France’s gambling authority, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), reveal that approximately 60% of the country’s online gambling revenue is derived from individuals exhibiting signs of problematic gambling behavior.
Utilizing a new risk assessment algorithm, ANJ identified around 600,000 account-holders with a significant likelihood of problematic gambling during the latter half of 2025. This demographic accounted for 8.7% of all monitored account-based users and generated €1.2 billion in gross gaming revenue, which represents 60% of the total observed market earnings.
The data reinforces critiques of the gambling sector’s business model, highlighting that a substantial share of its income is sourced from a small group of customers who may be coping with issues related to gambling addiction or impaired control. This challenges the notion that the majority of revenue originates from casual players.
Risk Evaluation Mechanism
ANJ clarifies that the evaluation tool is not intended to quantify the prevalence of gambling addiction as a population study would, hence the 600,000 figure does not imply that France has that many clinically diagnosed gambling addicts.
Rather, it establishes a comprehensive benchmark for the regulator to assess whether gambling operators are fulfilling their legal responsibilities in recognizing and aiding at-risk players.
This algorithm was developed using ongoing account-level data provided by licensed operators, supplemented by account activity from FDJ and PMU, according to ANJ.
It incorporates 23 risk factors, such as financial transactions, the usage of gambling limits and moderation tools, gaming frequency and intensity, along with player history. Each participant is assigned a score and categorized into one of four tiers: recreational, moderate risk, high-risk, or severely excessive gambling.
300,000 Players at “Severe Risk”
According to ANJ, approximately 300,000 players fell into the gravest “severely excessive” category in the latter half of 2025. The regulator emphasized that these players should be prioritized for intervention. Moreover, the total number of identified excessive gamblers is growing at a rate outpacing the overall player count, while their contribution to operator revenues has consistently risen since 2023.
This model has been in development since 2024 and was introduced to operators in 2025, with its effectiveness measured against the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, under the oversight of a scientific committee. ANJ stated that similar initiatives are underway in Spain and the Netherlands, but asserted that its model is the first of its kind in Europe.
While operators have shown improvement in recognizing excessive gamblers—identifying 89,000 in 2025 as opposed to 31,000 the previous year—this number is still significantly lower than what the algorithm indicates.