France’s AFJEL Re-Elects Betclic Founder Béraud as Prez

L’Association Française des Jeux en Ligne (AFJEL), the French online gambling association, announced that it has re-elected Nicolas Béraud, founder and chief executive of Betclic, as its president. In the meantime, the trade body named Alexandre Roos as its new vice president.

Béraud Retains His Position

According to the announcement, Béraud’s reelection was unanimously approved at the AFJEL’s recent general assembly. The organization acknowledged his strong leadership, which will continue to underpin its responsible gambling offerings and innovation.

In addition to that, Béraud will play an important role in the organization’s war on illegal gambling, which has continued to proliferate in France and endanger the legal gaming market. Even worse, black-market operators boast none of the safer gambling systems their legal counterparts do, thus endangering the consumers and exposing them to risks of developing gambling addiction.

Speaking of player protection, Béraud will also spearhead the adoption of enhanced regulatory and technical standards that make sure players do not experience gambling harm.

As president of the AFJEL, Béraud will also be responsible for championing fair and reasonable regulation that shields players from harm while ensuring that over-regulation does not push customers to the black market.

Béraud Vows to Champion Fair Regulation

Béraud commented on his appointment, saying that he is honored to have been re-elected as president of the AFJEL. He vowed to continue speaking on behalf of the organization’s members to promote fair regulation, player protection and best practices.

Béraud emphasized that the AFJEL is the only organization of its kind in France and that its members have professional commitments to preventing gambling harm, gambling-related fraud, cybercrime and illegal gambling.

Roos Becomes Vice President

As mentioned, the AFJEL also named Alexandre Roos as its vice president. Roos is also president of Winamax, one of the association’s latest members and a prominent tech company, reiterated Béraud’s promise to fight for a gambling framework that is favorable to gambling companies, tech providers and customers alike.

Roos said that Winamax will leverage its expertise to strengthen the AFJEL’s initiatives at a key time for the sector. The association’s newly-elected VP pointed out that the black market remains the most serious threat to legal French gaming.

As president of a tech leader, he said that companies such as his have a mission to enable innovation and support a “virtuous and responsible” gambling ecosystem in France.

Critics Slam FDJ’s Rebrand, ANJ Issues Record-Breaking Fine

In other French gaming news, traditionalists recently scrutinized FDJ’s recent rebrand to FDJ UNITED. Many were unhappy with the usage of English, saying that the lottery operator is embracing Globish instead of preserving the identity of the French language.

Earlier this month, L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s gambling regulator, issued a record-breaking EUR 800,000 fine to SPS Betting, which operates the Unibet brand in France. The gambling operator was accused of a serious self-exclusion failure that lasted for approximately two years before being rectified.