French regulator releases updated criteria for welcoming offers

French regulators have tightened the rules for operators that want to give away free bets and incentives.

The new recommendations aim to make commercial offers more clear and "moderate them" to safeguard at-risk users since players frequently contact the watchdog seeking "clarity," it added.

The governing body said, "Less than a month before the opening of the Football World Cup, the ANJ wishes to improve the transparency of these practises and moderate them to protect players at risk."

Operators are primarily being urged to improve the clarity of their offer language.

All "substantial information necessary" to understand an offer must be provided, as "the absence of which could mislead the consumer."

For instance, if a promotion is only accessible for a limited time, business owners should specify that fact. Players need to know if they will be receiving real money or in-game credits, which is why the "nature of the reward" should be specified.

In addition, the ANJ wants to make sure that advertising offers with monetary benefits "do not aggravate the situation of people with excessive or pathological gambling problems."

An example of a situation in which operators must "exercise particular vigilance" is when a user has "recently benefited from a self-exclusion measure or gambling ban."

In addition, the ANJ suggests that businesses not propose "welcome offers comprising one or more financial gratuities of a total amount greater than €100 ($99.50)".

A quote from the report reads as follows: "The ANJ emphasises that the reasonable nature of these welcome or loyalty offers will be the subject of particular attention on its part during the annual review of the operators' promotional strategies and their action plans to prevent excessive gambling."