The French government has proposed a new President of the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the National Gambling Authority, to replace the outgoing Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin.
Falque-Pierrotin’s six-year term as ANJ President is coming to an end amidst debate about the potential launch of an online casino market, the industry’s adjustment to a new tax regime, and entry of new operators into the market.
The Office of the French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has proposed that long-serving civil servant Pascal Chevremont be made the new ANJ President. The proposal has been taken on board by the office of President Emmanuel Macron.
Lecornu’s appointment will now depend on the opinions of the ‘relevant committees’ of the National Assembly and Senate. Both the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher have been notified by the presidential office.
Who is France’s new gambling steward?
Chevremont is not yet President of the ANJ.
However, as the government has the largest bloc in the National Assembly, the more important of the two chambers of the French legislature, with 180 members and 118 in support, his confirmation is very likely.
The government’s candidate has experience of both the private sector and public sector, having been working most recently in the latter.
Chevremont is currently the General Economic and Financial Controller at the Ministry of Economics and Finance, a role held since 2018. Prior to this, he was a Project Manager at the Ministry, which he joined in 2017.
His current role as a financial controller with the Ministry is within its General Economic and Financial Inspectorate, and includes responsibility for overseeing FDJ United – the state-owned lottery and retail sports betting monopoly.
In this role, Chevremont oversaw the transformation of FDJ United via its acquisition of Kindred Group in 2024, expanding its online gaming capabilities with the addition of the Unibet and 32red brands, and the acquisition of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) in 2023.
This expansion prompted the firm’s rebrand from La Française des Jeux (FDJ) to FDJ United in March 2025, reflecting its new focus on betting activity in both France and across Europe – though quarterly results over the past year show a company facing numerous challenges.
France’s gambling outlook in 2026
In 2025, the French Senate approved a raft of gambling tax changes. This put a huge burden on French operators. The aforementioned FDJ, for example, reported a hit of €24m from gaming taxes in Q1 2025, and expects a hit of €90m (£78m) for 2026 as a whole.
All in all, the tax hikes of July 2025 saw the rates on various types of gaming increase:
- Fom 54.9% to 59.3% on online sports betting gross gaming revenue (GGR)
- From 41.1% to 42% for retail betting GGR
- From 0.2% of stakes to 10% of GGR for online poker from 0.2%
- From 68% to 69% on lottery revenues
The government’s motive was to raise further funds for the country’s social security budget.
The market is seeing transformations in other ways, chiefly with new entrants coming into the market, while more long-term stakeholders consolidate their positions.
Just last week, UK-based international betting giant bet365 made its debut in France under an ANJ licence. Alex Sefton, the firm’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, said that bet365 is “thrilled to create a product and experience tailored specifically for French players”.
Meanwhile, Betclic Group – the betting arm of Banijay Entertainment founded back in 2005 – expanded its profile not just as a French business but as a continental one when its parent company acquired dominant German market player Tipico Group.
And above all of this is the debate around whether online casino should be permitted in France.
Currently, FDJ has the monopoly on lotteries and retail betting, Pari-Mutuel Urban (PMU) runs horse racing pools, and an open market exists for physical casinos and online betting, the latter populated by FDJ, PMU, Betclic, ZEturf and bet365, among others.
While the government ultimately opted to pull a proposal to legalise online casinos from its 2025 budget, the prospect remains a topic of speculation.
The Casinos de France trade body remains very opposed, however, having argued that the move could wipe €500m from public funds by hitting the land-based casino sector.
There’s no doubt that Chevremont’s six-year tenure will be just as eventful as that of his predecessor, Falque-Pierrotin, should his appointment go ahead.