Betsson France wins ANJ poker licence and joins shared European liquidity pool

France’s gambling regulator, the ANJ, has licensed Betsson France for online poker and cleared it to share liquidity with Italy, Spain and Portugal. Both decisions were published in the Journal officiel, issue JORF No 0248, on 23 October 2026.

Betsson France applied for the poker licence on 22 June 2026. The licence runs for five years and can be renewed. A separate decision, No 2026-PR-120, dated 16 October 2026, approved the operator’s poker platform software. The company has held a French sports betting licence since 21 September 2023.

Launch on iPoker

Betsson plans to launch on Playtech’s iPoker network. Casino Secret founder Nadir Ounissi, Betsson’s partner, called the licence an important milestone for Betsson in France. Betsson says the move is about the French poker market as it stands, not a bet on France legalising online casino. Before going live, Betsson France must tell the ANJ that its data archiving system is up and running. Its licence then runs until 15 October 2031.

Shared liquidity

The shared pool rests on an agreement signed on 6 July 2017 by four regulators: France’s ARJEL (now the ANJ), Spain’s DGOJ, Italy’s ADM and Portugal’s SRIJ. Betsson France must inform the ANJ of any change to its liquidity-sharing contract.

French market figures

Gross gaming revenue across French gambling, excluding casinos and gaming clubs, was €5.66bn in the first half of 2026. That was 0.5% higher than a year earlier, compared with growth of 4.1% the year before. For the whole of 2025, poker revenue reached €525m, up 6.5% after a 2.1% fall in 2024. In 2025, active poker accounts reached 2.5 million, up 16.5%, and unique players reached 1.9 million, up 15.1%. Each active poker account generated €126 on average in the first half of 2026, against €153 a year earlier, according to European Gaming.