The French regulator has published a blacklist of gaming websites

The French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has published a database of gaming websites that have been subject to banning and delisting orders.

Campeonbet, Casinoextra, Dublinbet, Kahuna Casino, Winmachance, MyStake, WinUnique, VegasPlus, and YBet are among the businesses represented on the blacklist, which will be updated monthly.

ANJ was given unprecedented powers last March to block and delist illicit gambling websites, as well as those that advertise these sites.

Since the initial administrative blocking and delisting orders were issued in June of last year, ANJ has issued a total of 152 orders, resulting in the blocking of 532 URLs containing unlawful gambling content.

According to ANJ, the method for blocking such sites has also been updated so that action to restrict access to illegal websites can be conducted more quickly. Formerly, it took four to six months from the discovery of an illegal site to a judge's approval of the order to prohibit access.

However, ANJ can now confer with an administrative judge to seek that French internet service providers (ISPs) ban access to websites that have been recognised as illegally functioning or advertising.

A formal notification will be made to the site's publisher and host; if this goes unanswered for five days and the operator does not discontinue operation, ANJ may contact ISPs to prohibit access. According to ANJ, this could shorten the blocking process by one to two months.

In France, 17 operators are now licenced to operate, with La Française des Jeux holding the country's lottery monopoly. A list of these authorised operators is also available on the ANJ website.

“When a French consumer plays on an illegal website, it exposes you to multiple risks such as the unauthorised collection of personal data, payment fraud, installation of malicious computer programs, non-payment of winnings and the absence of measures to prevent excessive gambling and underage gambling,” ANJ said.

“The ANJ also suggests that players report illegal gambling sites to the regulator.”

By fLEXI tEAM