ANJ Fines Unibet Operator €800,000 for Auto-Exclusion Failures
France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has fined SPS Betting, the operator of Unibet.fr, €800,000 for failing to comply with self-exclusion requirements. Thousands of players were affected by a technical issue that shortened exclusion periods, allowing them to gamble again after a few days instead of months.
Auto-Exclusion System Malfunction on Unibet.fr
On January 22, 2025, ANJ’s sanctions committee reviewed a case concerning SPS Betting. The operator failed to properly implement the self-exclusion tool on its website and mobile app.
ANJ inspectors discovered the issue in 2021 after receiving multiple reports from players.
The malfunction affected iOS users, converting exclusion requests from months into days. A player who requested a 12-month exclusion was only blocked for 12 days.
As a result, thousands of players who attempted to self-exclude may have resumed gambling within days.
Extended Duration of Compliance Failures
The issue first occurred between March 2, 2021, and December 11, 2022, before being corrected.
However, a software update reintroduced the error, affecting iOS users between December 29, 2022, and February 2, 2023. In total, the malfunction lasted nearly 22 months.
ANJ’s Sanctions
Given the severity and duration of these failures, the ANJ sanctions committee issued:
- A financial penalty of €800,000
- Publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the French Republic
- A notice on Unibet.fr and its apps from March 17 to March 31, 2025, informing users of the sanction
- A non-anonymized publication on ANJ’s website for one year (until March 3, 2026)
Potential Legal Challenge
SPS Betting has the right to appeal the decision before the Conseil d’État within two months of notification.