Unibet Hit with Record Fine for Auto-Exclusion Failures

In a significant development for the sports betting industry, the French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has issued an unprecedented verdict against Unibet. The operator has been found to have failed in its obligations regarding self-exclusion, preventing numerous players from accessing the service. As a result, Unibet faces a record fine of €800,000. This is the largest penalty ever imposed by the ANJ to date.

Key Takeaways from the Unibet Sanction

• Record Fine: Unibet receives an €800,000 fine for serious breaches in providing an effective self-exclusion mechanism.
• iOS App Bug: A flaw on the iOS application transformed self-exclusion periods of months into days, exposing players to promotional emails prematurely.
• Affected Players: The ANJ estimates that over 6,700 players were affected, generating an estimated profit of €1.1 million for Unibet.
• Unibet’s Defense: Unibet contests these figures, claiming only 4,100 accounts were exposed, impacting just 157 players. However, this argument failed to convince the sanctions committee.
• Corrective Measures: In addition to the fine, Unibet must display an informational message on its website and applications for two weeks to inform bettors.

ANJ’s Sanctions Committee Imposes Historic Fine

The year is off to a rocky start for Unibet. The operator, acquired in 2024 by Française des Jeux through its Kindred entity, has received a financial penalty notice amounting to €800,000. While Unibet can appeal to the Council of State, it has been found negligent in its self-exclusion system.

In 2024, the ANJ had already sanctioned several unnamed operators for Return to Player (RTP) rates exceeding French regulations, imposing fines ranging from €5,000 to €150,000. However, this €800,000 fine marks a new high in sanctions.

The fine reflects the severity of the breach, which the ANJ deemed aggravated by its duration and repetition.

Self-Exclusion System Flaw at the Heart of the Sanction

Designed to allow players on any gambling site to pause their activities, the self-exclusion system must be easily and quickly accessible from a player’s account, 24/7. The duration can range from a few days to several months, depending on the player’s needs.

On Unibet, a persistent bug on the iOS application converted self-exclusion periods of months into days, leading to players receiving promotional emails sooner than intended.

In its March 3rd statement, the ANJ highlighted the severity of the bug with the following example:

“In October 2022, a player seeking a 12-month exclusion only had their account blocked for 12 days.”

The malfunction, attributed to development errors, was repeatedly reported by players and the ANJ but was not promptly corrected, leading to the exemplary sanction.

Dysfunction Lasted Nearly Two Years

The duration of the malfunction is central to the historic sanction. The self-exclusion bug persisted for nearly two years across two periods: from March 2, 2021, to December 11, 2022, and from December 29, 2022, to February 2, 2023.

The ANJ estimates that over 6,700 players were unable to benefit from the intended self-exclusion, generating an estimated profit of €1.1 million for Unibet. Unibet strongly disputes this, claiming only 157 players were affected.

Unibet Disputes ANJ’s Figures

Unibet argues that the ANJ inflated the figures of affected players, particularly through a calculation method that overemphasized a bug limited to iOS application users.

“The malfunction was limited to the iOS operating system; to ensure the proper functioning of the self-exclusion tool for all players, a mandatory update to the latest version of the application was imposed on all users.”

Despite its arguments, Unibet failed to convince the ANJ and faces the most severe fine since the creation of ARJEL (now ANJ) in 2009.

A Historic Decision: €800,000 Fine for Repeated Failures

The historic fine of €800,000 was motivated by several factors.

Unibet’s prior sanctions played a significant role. With three sanctions since its licensing in 2010, the operator should have understood the importance of a properly functioning self-exclusion system, according to the ANJ.

In addition to the financial penalty, Unibet’s website and applications will display a specific message about the sanction for two weeks to inform bettors, a blow to the brand.

“By a decision of March 3, 2025, the sanctions committee of the National Gaming Authority imposed a financial penalty of €800,000 on SPS Betting, operator of the online gaming site ‘Unibet.fr’, for failing to provide its players with a self-exclusion mechanism. The statement and the full decision are available at the following link.”

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