France Approves Loss Limits for Bettors Aged 18 to 25
France’s National Assembly has approved an amendment to the professional sport bill that introduces loss limits for online sports betting players aged 18 to 25. The measure would amend Article L.320-11 of the Internal Security Code and give the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) power to restrict the amount of losses young players can expose themselves to with operators covered by the provision.
The bill has not yet cleared the full legislative process. According to the Italian report, the Senate must still approve the text before the rule can enter into force, and the final financial value of the loss cap has not been defined.
What the Amendment Changes
The French amendment expands the existing player protection framework from stakes to both stakes and losses. It states that young players aged 18 to 25 should face tighter controls because of their higher exposure to excessive or pathological gambling risk.
Under the new text, those players can only raise their deposit, stake or loss limits after a period set by decree, which cannot be shorter than one month.
ANJ would also gain power to limit the amount of losses for players aged 18 to 25 directly. Any such restriction would require a reasoned decision from the regulator and could last up to one year.
Operators, for now, only have the principle of the new rule. The euro amount of the cap will be defined later by the French government through a decree, issued after consultation with ANJ, according to the Italian report.
Why Sports Betting Is the Focus
The measure is grounded in ANJ research that shows roughly two-thirds of French people under 25 have already placed a sports bet, according to the Italian report.
Scale is also part of the argument. Sports betting recorded €11.5bn in stakes in 2025, with 99% of that amount placed on professional sport, and the market involves more than 3.5 million players.
Each active player account recorded an average of 151 bets and €2,186 in annual stakes in 2025, according to ANJ data cited in the amendment.
Public health data adds further weight to the case. Santé Publique France estimated in 2019 that around 1.4 million people were at-risk gamblers, of whom about 400,000 were classified as excessive gamblers, with a large share in the 18 to 25 age group.
Timing matters too. The Italian report links the measure to political concern ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when betting activity typically rises.
The wider professional sport bill also covers league governance, club financial control and anti-piracy rules. Roughly 59% of France’s 9.9 million football fans have watched matches on pirate platforms, a trend that has hit broadcast rights revenue, per figures cited during the parliamentary debate.
European Comparison
France would become the second regulated European market, after the Netherlands, to apply a specific loss limit for young adult bettors if the bill clears the Senate. Dutch regulator KSA already applies differentiated deposit and loss limits for players aged 18 to 24.
By contrast, the UK has taken a different route. Since May 2025, UK operators must apply a £2 maximum stake for online slots users aged 18 to 24, while France’s approach targets overall betting losses, a measure with potentially broader reach.
Germany and Switzerland already apply similar age-based rules, according to the French amendment. Its central argument is that France needs to catch up with those markets by adding stronger protection for 18 to 25-year-olds.
ANJ will oversee the new rules under its new president, Pascal Chèvremont, who was appointed on June 22. His stated priorities include stronger oversight of the sector, action against illegal gambling, and future policy on gambling advertising and a possible launch of the iCasino market.
💡TGJ Take
France now treats loss limits as an age-specific tool, not only a general responsible gambling measure, and would become only the second European market to do so after the Netherlands. For operators, the real work starts once the decree sets the actual cap: compliance teams will need to connect age checks, loss records and limit-change controls at account level. The one-month period before limit increases also matters, since it slows high-frequency betting escalation among younger players. Affiliates should treat 18 to 25 traffic more carefully in France, especially around major football events like the 2026 World Cup.
