2018/0390/F
EC/EFTA
FR France
  • SERV - SERVICES 98/48/CE
2018-11-05
2018-08-13

Online gambling or betting operators

Draft decree on the methods of liquidation and recovery of unclaimed gambling assets which are owed to the state by Française des Jeux from online lotteries and by online gambling or betting operators which have been approved by the regulatory authority for online gambling

Article 17 of Act No 2010-476 of 12 May 2010 on the opening-up to competition and regulation of the online gambling sector stipulates that operators of online gambling are obligated, after a player’s account has been closed for six years, to pay the sums to the State which have been held in reserve and could not be repaid to the player. In practice, operators close a clearing account if they can no longer validate it in line with the requisite supporting documents or formalities - which make it possible in particular to verify the player’s identity, address and age - or at the player’s request. Some accounts have also been validated but then abandoned by the holder.

The purpose of the notified draft decree is to enable the aforementioned article to be applied by specifying the procedure to be followed when recovering sums. This would involve implementing, annually and for accounts which have been closed for more than six years, a procedure for a spontaneous cash payment from a public accountant. The procedure will be different depending on whether it relates to online player accounts which are regulated by the French regulatory authority for online gambling (ARJEL) or Française des Jeux online lottery accounts regulated by the budget department. In either case, the authorising officer will be the regulator.