Gambling Addiction: How France is Tackling the Issue
France’s gambling market continues to grow, reaching €14 billion in 2024, a 4.7% increase from the previous year, according to a recent report by the national gambling authority (ANJ). With an estimated 360,000 people in France considered “high-risk gamblers,” the question arises: how can they be helped?
Beyond addiction services, casinos and tobacconists play a role in prevention and detection. This article explores the efforts being made to address gambling addiction in France.
Training and Awareness
Loïc Vilboux, a regional representative of the tobacconists’ confederation, highlights the regular training provided to professionals in the sector by Française des Jeux, which holds a monopoly on physical networks for lottery and scratch card games, as well as sports betting. PMU handles horse race betting. Vilboux emphasizes that the ANJ oversees and controls these activities.
Christian Pycke, director of a casino in the Finistère region, explains that all staff members in contact with customers receive training. Delphine Lever, from the regional addiction center at Brest University Hospital, who helped train the casino staff, expressed enthusiasm, stating, “We feared they would see us as doctors coming to bother them, but the staff were very willing.”
Identifying Problematic Behavior
Contrary to common misconceptions, industry professionals recognize the importance of supporting at-risk individuals. “As soon as we detect a change in behavior in one of our customers, we approach them, we talk a little. We can slow them down, talk about limits…” explains Pycke.
He elaborates on the signs: “Specifically, this is observed by much larger gambling volumes, an extended playing time, or a person who will ask another customer for a €20 bill. There may also be aggression: when they start hitting the machine, we know something is wrong.”
Pycke adds that voluntary access restrictions can be implemented, even leading to national bans for a minimum of three years.
“Some really play the game – so to speak – to support people with addictive behavior. Others, much less so. They do it because they are forced to,” notes one industry insider.
The efforts to train staff and identify problematic behavior demonstrate a commitment to addressing gambling addiction within the industry.
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