Pauline Hot

Administrative Background and Early Career

A graduate of the École normale supérieure and the École nationale d’administration (ENA), Pauline Hot followed the traditional path of France’s senior public officials. She began her career at the Conseil d’État, where she served as an auditor and later as Maître des requêtes (Master of Requests).

Her responsibilities included preparing legal opinions, reviewing regulatory frameworks, and advising on administrative disputes. Working across both the Litigation and Administration sections of the Council provided her with a strong foundation in public law and state governance — experience that has become central to her regulatory approach at ANJ.

Appointment to ANJ

Hot joined the Autorité nationale des jeux in January 2025 as Deputy Director General, during the implementation of ANJ’s 2024–2026 strategic roadmap. In July 2025, she succeeded Rémi Lataste as Director General after his five-year term.

Her promotion came at a time when ANJ was consolidating its supervisory powers and expanding its focus on emerging online formats. The regulator’s mandate covers all licensed gambling activities in France, including lotteries, sports betting, poker, and horse racing, as well as oversight of advertising and responsible gambling policies.

Policy Focus and Regulatory Objectives

Under Hot’s direction, ANJ continues to prioritise three key objectives: protecting vulnerable players, curbing excessive gambling, and ensuring a fair and transparent market environment.

She has supported the introduction of stricter advertising standards, particularly around live sports broadcasts, and called for closer monitoring of sponsorship practices involving gambling operators. Another area of focus has been loss limits for players aged 18–25, aimed at improving early prevention among younger gamblers.

Hot’s approach remains rooted in practical regulation and measurable outcomes. Rather than expanding restrictions, she has focused on improving the quality and precision of existing controls, relying on data reporting and player behaviour analysis from licensed operators.

Oversight of New Digital Formats

The rapid growth of digital entertainment has led ANJ to examine new types of products such as games with monetisable digital objects (JONUM), which combine gaming features with financial elements.

Hot has described these products as a regulatory grey area requiring new oversight mechanisms. ANJ is currently assessing how to define and monitor JONUM within the framework of gambling law, focusing on issues of transparency, consumer protection, and compliance with anti-fraud measures.

France remains one of the few major EU jurisdictions that does not authorise online casino games. The current model allows only lotteries, poker, and sports betting online. While there have been policy discussions around possible expansion, Hot has stated that any such change would require strict safeguards and evidence-based evaluation.