REGULATION IN FRANCE
cannot rely solely on licensing regimes. In this context, the ANJ has actively encouraged the adoption of a “whistle‑to‑whistle” ban, 11 similar to the model implemented in the United Kingdom, which prohibits gambling advertising during live sports broadcasts from the start to the end of a match. That said, the French National Assembly has declined to include such a proposal in the bill on the organisation of professional sport currently under consideration. 12 Although studies show the English whistle-to-whistle ban has had a tangible effect on reducing the visibility of betting products during live sport broadcasts 13 and on children’s exposure to gambling advertising, 14 members of the National Assembly considered such measure would be detrimental to the French sports sector. In their view, it would reduce commercial revenues without preventing viewers from being exposed to advertisements for illegal gambling operators during broadcasts of sporting events held abroad. At the same time, recent developments in the United Kingdom indicate that the limits of self-regulation are themselves coming under scrutiny, as the UK All- Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform considers stronger statutory controls on sports betting marketing. 15 Comparable regulatory logics can also be observed in the Nordic countries, where gambling regulation has progressively enhanced consumer protection measures. Norway has prohibited television advertising of gambling in 2022. Denmark has restricted time slots, the use of celebrities and marketing bonuses since
2022 16 . If gambling regulation remains a national competence, regulatory convergence occurs through shared public health objectives rather than formal harmonization, gradually reshaping operator conduct across borders. Unbearable tax pressure Finally, fiscal policy adds an additional layer of complexity to the French regulatory model. While certain aspects of gambling taxation were partially harmonised at the European level in 2019, significant disparities persist between online and land based offerings. In France, taxation remains markedly heavier for online betting activities than for terrestrial operations . When combined with increasingly restrictive advertising rules and heightened compliance obligations, this fiscal imbalance places the regulated online offer under growing pressure. Licensed operators face rising costs and limited commercial flexibility at a time when illegal platforms continue to benefit from both regulatory and fiscal arbitrage. This asymmetry risks undermining one of the core objectives of gambling regulation, namely, the effective channelisation of demand toward a controlled and protective legal market. The long term challenge for France therefore lies not only in defining where to draw the legal boundaries of gambling, but also in ensuring that regulatory tools remain proportionate, coherent and capable of competing with an increasingly sophisticated illegal market.
DIANE MULLENEX Partner, Head of Retail, Sport & Leisure, Pinsent Masons For information contact diane.mullenex@ pinsentmasons.com +44 7979 477 965
ANNABELLE RICHARD Parner, Pinsent Masons
11 ANJ in Publicité pour les paris sportifs pendant la Coupe du Monde de football 2026 : l’ANJ appelle l’ensemble des acteurs à modérer la pression publicitaire | ANJ 12 French National Assembly Commission report n°2797 13 McGrane, E., Pryce, R., Wilson, L., Field, M., & Goyder, E. (2024). How did the 'whistle-to-whistle' ban affect gam- bling advertising on TV? A live football matching study. Addiction research & theory, 33(2), 134–142. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/16066359.2024.2355183 14 UK Policy Paper, High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age, 27 April 2023 : Advertising Standards Author- ity (ASA) data shows that the average number of sports betting adverts seen by children under 16 fell from 0.7 to 0.3 per week between 2018 and 2019 15 Gambling Advertising, Marketing and Sponsorship: Recommendations for the reform report by the All-Party Par- liamentary Group on Gambling Reform (Gambling Reform APPG) & Peers, 23 April 2026 16 Marionneau V, Lindeman M, Cisneros Örnberg J, Karlsson T. From Policy to Politics: Is there a Nordic Model for the regulation of alcohol and gambling?, 1 July 2025
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