The regulation of digital platforms across Europe has come under greater scrutiny, with concerted efforts at the top level to unify and codify the EU’s response to iGaming, social media, and fintech tools.
As it stands, some countries are taking a stricter approach to managing platforms in these categories and enforcing the rules they set, putting operators in a position where compliance must be prioritised at all costs.
The French response to growing pressures and changing trends is an especially interesting case study, hinting at what may eventually occur more broadly across the continent. Let’s discuss how France is handling regulation and enforcement at the moment, and what this means for operators and users alike.
The iGaming GDPR Compliance Conundrum
The most recent development in France’s online gambling sphere, a heavily regulated and much-debated niche across the EU, is the release of new guidelines by the ANJ (National Gaming Authority) and CNIL (National Commission on Informatics and Liberty). Although wide-ranging, one of the main focuses is on how platform user data is generated, and where it stands from a GDPR perspective.
In short, the French regulators argue that when an online casino flags a player as a problem gambler or tracks behavioural anomalies to prevent addiction, they are technically processing health data. Under GDPR, health data requires explicit, unambiguous consent and the highest level of security. This puts French operators in a brutal compliance bind, as they are legally required by gaming laws to monitor and intervene with problem gamblers, but if they flag someone incorrectly or handle that data improperly, they face catastrophic fines from privacy regulators.
Of course, regulators also recognise that iGaming is a prosperous market, one that’s grown by 50% over the past decade. And with reputable platforms like Tikal Casino, France has ample providers ready and willing to comply with whatever new rules and requirements get implemented, as there’s a €13 billion market there to enjoy the fruits of.
The Complexity of Criminalization
Another top-level talking point for digital platform enforcement in France today stems from the country’s approach to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which it has augmented with its own cybercrime statute, LOPMI (Loi d’Orientation et de Programmation du Ministère de l’Intérieur).
Despite its lengthy name, LOPMI has a simple purpose: it enables the operators of digital platforms to face criminal charges if they’re found to be in breach of certain serious laws. For instance, a digital platform that gets used to enable illegal transactions, such as money laundering, would not just see the organisation hit with a fine, but executives put in the firing line for custodial sentences.
Put simply, France is legitimately in contention for the title of Europe’s hardest test case or digital platform enforcement. These strict regulations must be backed by action from the authorities; otherwise, even calls for increased compliance cannot be taken seriously, no matter how harsh the penalties might be in theory. Other EU nations will take note of what happens next, and platform users’ trust hangs in the balance as well.
