France’s gambling authority has warned gambling operators that a mere suspicion of fraudulent activity does not justify blocking payouts or withholding player balances, demand evidence to prove an occurrence of fraud.
The Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) published new directives regarding gambling fraud on 31 August 2026 after consulting with licensed casinos and gambling mediators.
The so-called guidance covers identity fraud and payment fraud, abusive chargebacks, gambling-related fraud, and “money dumping.” In essence, the guidance emphasizes that casinos should have enough evidence to prove that fraud has occurred.
The ANJ says:
Characterising fraud requires the collection of probative evidence, and the operator cannot refuse to pay a win or return part or all of an account balance on the basis of mere suspicions, without undermining the binding force of the gambling contract.
Gambling operators are encouraged to terminate user profiles that engage in a proven fraud; in cases of confirmed multiple account fraud, all user accounts associated with the player might be closed. However, how the remaining money is treated depends on the kinds of fraud being committed and applicable laws.
Recent French decisions showcase the problem. In July 2025, the Paris court found that Winamax could not demonstrate enough fraud to void five bets, and ordered it to pay more than €402,000, as well as the residual account balance of €218.68.
On the other hand, the court of appeal approved Betclic proof in February 2026, among which were shared IP addresses, devices and 35 similar bets. While the closure of the account was confirmed, Betclic was asked to pay back €32,785.30 to the customer.
This guidance came amid the increasing number of disputes regarding account limitations. In 2025, France’s gambling mediator accepted 1,856 applications, which is a 20% increase from previous years, with account management being 42.4% of all cases that were accepted.
The UK gambling commission also advised the online operators to handle identity verification sooner, and specified that they should not wait for customer’s withdrawal requests to save identity verification problems.