The French National Sanctions Committee (CNS) has taken action against a licensed online sports betting company in France, along with two of its senior executives, imposing fines and suspending their operations due to significant breaches of anti-money laundering regulations.
In a decision made in July, the operator, known as GU, was penalized for not adhering to the asset-freezing mandates set by both European Union and French regulations, which are designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The French gambling authority, l'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), had initially referred the case to the CNS last year. This week, the ANJ released the details of the ruling.
In the published findings, the CNS anonymized the identities of individuals involved to minimize harm, adhering to procedural standards. GU received a two-month suspension of its online betting services and faced a fine of €20,000. Additionally, Monsieur AB, the former CEO of GU's parent company, received a two-month prohibition on managing online betting activities and a fine also amounting to €20,000. Madame BG, the compliance officer for the operator, was similarly sanctioned with a two-month ban and a €5,000 fine.
No penalties were issued against the legal officer or the major shareholder of the company.
The sanctions were a result of GU opening an account on December 3, 2023, for an individual who was on France's national asset-freezing list. Despite alerts from automated systems indicating the account's problematic status, GU confirmed the account 11 days later, on December 14, 2023. After the ANJ learned of the situation, it referred the matter for review on January 3, 2024, and GU closed the account the following day.
The CNS's findings cited deficiencies in GU's compliance practices, stating that the operator had inadequate systems to ensure compliance with asset-freezing requirements. This failure allowed the problematic account to be established contrary to articles L.562-4-1 and R.562-1 of the French monetary and financial code. The CNS characterized the obligation to prevent the creation of prohibited accounts as an “obligation of result.”
Furthermore, GU did not notify the Minister of the Economy about the incident on either December 3, when the account was created, or January 4, after it had been closed, highlighting a failure in communication. The CNS did dismiss allegations regarding some other transactions due to a lack of evidence.
France has stringent regulations governing online gambling operators, particularly concerning anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, as outlined in the monetary and financial code. This year, the ANJ has also released a practical guide aimed at helping licensed online gaming operators improve their mechanisms for recognizing, documenting, and addressing various forms of player fraud. The guide reiterates compliance with existing standards without imposing new legal responsibilities, urging operators to strengthen their terms of service, maintain thorough documentation, and elevate their technical protocols.
