France’s gambling regulator has granted Betsson France a five-year online poker licence and a separate, conditional approval to share tables with players in other regulated European markets. The decisions make Betsson France the ninth operator authorised to offer online poker in the country, but do not set a date for the first games.
The ANJ adopted both measures on Oct. 15, following Betsson France’s June application, and they were published in the Journal officiel on Oct. 23. Gambling.com reported the approvals. Betsson France must provide its authorised poker offer through betsson.fr; the licence is renewable but cannot be transferred to another operator.
Decision No. 2026-171 issued the poker authorisation under reference 0061-PO-2026-10-15-AGR-00. Decision No. 2026-172 created the separate shared-liquidity authorisation, reference 0061-PO-LIQU-2026-10-15.
The latter approval does not itself connect Betsson’s French customers to player pools in Spain, Italy or Portugal. Each relevant regulator must approve an arrangement and the shared-table software must receive clearance. Betsson France must also notify the ANJ if a participant joins the liquidity-sharing contract or if the agreement ends.
Shared liquidity can increase the number of opponents available and help poker tables fill. The framework stems from a July 2017 agreement involving France’s then-ARJEL, now the ANJ, Spain’s DGOJ, Italy’s ADM and Portugal’s SRIJ. France and Spain were the first countries to implement the pact in January 2018, before Portugal joined later that year, according to PokerNews.
Before launching, Betsson France must tell the regulator that its data-archiving system is operational. That notification starts a six-month period for first certification. A separate certification covering game integrity and information security is due within a year of the licence award, with annual technical updates thereafter; the systems must be assessed by an independent body at Betsson France’s cost.
Betsson has said it plans to use Playtech’s iPoker platform for its French poker launch. Its French business already holds a fixed-odds sports-betting licence, obtained in September 2023, while the ANJ’s Oct. 15 register shows it holds no horse-racing betting licence. Betsson entered France through a joint venture with a local partner in 2023.
The company said its decision rested on the French poker market as it currently stands, rather than expectations of future regulatory change. Nadir Ounissi, a Betsson partner, described poker as an important milestone in the company’s French growth plans and pointed to Playtech’s content, customer service and responsible-gaming tools.
