French Gambling Regulator Strengthening the Fight Against Manipulation of Sports Competitions: Paris 2024 Objective
PARIS, France (October 6, 2023) — The Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games was present on October 5 at the National Games Authority for the presentation of the sports manipulation monitoring system put in place during the Rugby World Cup, on the eve of the France- Italy. At this stage of the competition, which recorded 75 million euros in stakes in France, no suspicion of manipulation has been noted. More broadly, the ANJ presented the actions implemented within the national platform and those taking place at the international level through the Copenhagen Group which it chairs.
In order to limit the risk of manipulation, the ANJ college draws up a list of competitions authorized for betting and that of the types of authorized bets. Very low level competitions or the most easily manipulated bets (for example, “player X will receive a yellow card in a match” are not open to betting in France.
Furthermore, all online operators’ gaming data is recorded, which allows the ANJ to detect atypical bets hidden among operators as well as abnormal odds. In the event of serious and consistent indications of manipulation, the president of the ANJ may take the decision to prohibit betting on a competition, in order to protect bettors in good faith and to obstruct manipulators. In the vast majority of cases, these banning decisions are the subject of exchanges within the international network of national platforms fighting against the manipulation of sports competitions.
The ANJ can inform the members of the monitoring training of the national platform of the atypicalities observed so that the competent members can, if necessary, initiate proceedings.
Created in January 2016, the national platform to combat the manipulation of sports competitions is chaired by the Minister in charge of sports and includes two training courses: prevention training, placed under the responsibility of the Director of Sports and monitoring training, placed under the responsibility of the President of the ANJ. The platform meets once a quarter. It has processed 76 notices since January 2023 (143 notices received in 2022). The French platform processes alerts on competitions open to betting in France (ANJ list of authorized competitions) or competitions taking place on national territory.
The Law of March 2, 2022 aimed at democratizing sport in France resulted in the inclusion of the national platform to combat the manipulation of sports competitions in the Sports Code.
In the context of France’s ratification of the Macolin Convention on international surveillance in June 2023, the minister announced the very upcoming publication of the decree organizing the national platform. She also reaffirmed France’s commitment to go further in the fight against sporting manipulation, with a view to the 2024 Olympic Games. The cooperation between the ANJ and the COJOP which is structured around two axes “training and surveillance” was also mentioned. The ANJ will therefore participate in actions to raise awareness among volunteers about the ban on betting and the reports to be made in the event of a risk of manipulation.
SOURCE: L’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) (French Gambling Regulator)
