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France has a new problem gambling detection tool, and early results show a far wider risk group than operators currently report.
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The French National Gaming Authority has developed an algorithm to identify risky online and in-play wagering behavior at account level. ANJ built the model from live operator data and 23 indicators linked to gambling harm research, including payment patterns, gambling intensity, player history, and use of moderation tools.
ANJ says the tool classified players into four groups: recreational, moderate risk, excessive, and manifestly excessive. The regulator tested its performance against the Canadian Problem Gambling Index and an independent scientific committee reviewed it.
Early findings cover the second half of 2025. The algorithm identified roughly 600,000 high-probability excessive gamblers, equal to 8.7% of the online and in-play wagering population under ANJ supervision. That includes licensed online operators, plus the two major account-based operators, La Française des Jeux and Pari Mutuel Urbain.
Half of that flagged group, around 300,000 players, landed in the manifestly excessive category. ANJ wants operators to treat those accounts as a priority.
The financial split adds another layer. Players flagged by the tool generated an estimated €1.2 billion in gross gaming revenue, or about 60% of all online gambling GGR. ANJ said that share has risen since 2023.
Operator reporting remains far below those estimates. Gambling companies identified 31,000 excessive gamblers in 2024 and 89,000 in 2025. ANJ acknowledged that improvement, but said the gap against algorithm results and population survey data remains too wide.
France had about 1.17 million people showing problematic gambling behavior in 2024, according to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Around 360,000 were classed as excessive players.
ANJ will offer the algorithm to operators on an optional basis. The regulator wants it used as a compliance barometer, so companies can compare internal detection against an independent benchmark. ANJ will also keep checking operator reports against its own data.
Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of ANJ, called the tool “a decisive step for the regulator.”
She said ANJ expects operators to start identifying the 300,000 manifestly excessive players and then widen efforts to the larger risk group.
The tool forms part of the ANJ 2024 to 2026 strategy, which aims to reduce excessive gambling by 2027. ANJ also wants stronger detection in retail gambling, especially across FDJ and PMU activity.
The regulator stressed that the algorithm does not replace epidemiological studies or provide an exact national prevalence rate. Instead, it gives ANJ a working benchmark for oversight, trend tracking, and pressure on operators to improve player protection.