“ Addiction, debt, mental health problems… behind the economic boom of sports betting lie worrying health and social consequences." , says the leading addiction network in France, before the first match of the French team at the World Cup.
While the event is being touted as " a new record "of stakes, the Addiction Federation, which brings together 850 health establishments and services and some 500 professionals (care, education, prevention…) proposes 15 measures urgent“ For " better regulate the sports betting sector“.
“ So that betting remains a pleasure", she specifically calls for ban sponsorship of sporting competitions, clubs, teams and events » by the operators, including Marketing pressure has become omnipresent.", and target " young men, especially those from working-class neighborhoods“.
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The worrying trivialization of sports betting
Because " For many fans, betting now appears as a normal part of the sporting spectacle.", a trivialization all the more so" worrying "in the absence of" in this World Cup year, large-scale prevention campaigns by public authorities“.
But sports betting is the " the main gateway for young people into gambling and games of chance "despite their prohibition for minors."
The Addiction Federation is therefore also calling for " prohibit athletes, coaches, consultants, commentators and other sports personalities from promoting sports betting“.
She also wants the National Gaming Authority (ANJ), the sector's regulator, to be able to " sanctioned by fines, or even license withdrawals"Operators whose advertising messages do not comply with regulations - prohibition on targeting vulnerable audiences, promising enrichment…"
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Implementing a genuine prevention policy
These addiction professionals also want to see a genuine interministerial policy implemented, involving the Ministries of Health, Education and Youth, and no longer a policy driven primarily from an economic and fiscal perspective“.
For its part, AFJEL (French Online Gaming Association), which represents the operators, stated in a press release on Monday that the latter " exclude identified problem gamblers from their marketing communications and that of the plans for the prevention of excessive gamblingf" are validated by the ANJ.
THE gambling regulator estimates that 600,000 players in France have a high probability of being excessive and that they alone represent 60% of the gross gaming revenue, i.e. the turnover of the operators.
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