Conseil d'État: consumer law applies to online gambling and the ANJ can enforce it: Allegations, Court Orders and Status

What this case is about

AFJEL v. ARJEL / ANJ, Conseil d'État n° 431786, is a challenge by the operators' association Association française du jeu en ligne (AFJEL) to a regulator's statement of how consumer law applies to online gambling in France.

The Conseil d'État, sitting in its 5th and 6th chambres réunies, decided it. The case belongs with the wider group of regulators and attorneys general in court.

AFJEL, which represents licensed operators, filed a recours pour excès de pouvoir in 2019 against a délibération of the regulator ARJEL dated 18 April 2019.

That text said the Code de la consommation applies to the relationship between operator and player, and that breaches could be prosecuted before the sanctions commission. The defendant is the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), ARJEL's successor.

Who is covered

The ruling concerns the relationship between online gambling operators and their players in France. The court treated operators as "professionnels" and players as "consommateurs".

For non-class cases like this one, the people affected are the operators who must follow consumer rules and the ANJ that enforces them. More French cases are listed under gambling lawsuits in France.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists in this case. It was an operators' association challenging a regulator's act, and the association lost. The record shows no fund, no damages and no claim process, and the court awarded no costs.

What the court decided

As of 14 November 2026 the case is decided, with status judgment. On 24 March 2021 the Conseil d'État rejected the association's application (requête rejetée), in a ruling published with the ECLI reference ECLI:FR:CECHR:2021:431786.20210324.

The court first admitted the action, accepting that the 2019 délibération could be challenged even though it is soft law. It then rejected the challenge on the merits.

It held that the ANJ college may refer any breach of rules applicable to the activity to its sanctions commission. AFJEL had relied on the consumer-code rules on abusive clauses and unfair commercial practices.

The ANJ announced the outcome in a release dated 7 April 2021. More on the regulator's litigation sits on the page for Autorité nationale des jeux lawsuits.

Why it matters

The ruling underpins the ANJ's later enforcement on bonuses, advertising and self-exclusion. The court also admitted a challenge against a regulator's soft-law statement, which let the operators test it in court.

Other decisions in the same line are collected among the enforcement cases against gambling operators.

Questions people ask

Does consumer law apply to online gambling in France?

Yes, according to the Conseil d'État on 24 March 2021. Operators are "professionnels" and players are "consommateurs", so the Code de la consommation applies to their relationship.

Can the ANJ punish consumer-law breaches by gambling operators?

Yes. The court held that the ANJ college may refer any breach of rules applicable to the activity to its sanctions commission.

Did the operators' association win any part of its case?

On admissibility only. The court accepted that the 2019 délibération could be challenged, then rejected the requête on the merits.

Related cases

• Betclic Enterprises Limited c/ Autorité nationale des jeux is a judgment on an ANJ sanction of EUR 150,000 (TRJ 2022).
• Commission des sanctions de l'ANJ, décision n° 2024-033 concerns a self-exclusion malfunction and a EUR 800,000 sanction.