Improvements to French Gambling Harm Evaluation Tool

France’s native gambling regulator, ANJ, has made significant improvements to its in-house player self-assessment mechanism, referred to as ‘Evalujeu’. Specific performance upgrades attributed to the tool itself have also been complemented by a re-brand to the hosting website, and the introduction of additional content designed to aid the evaluation process. The core objective of ‘Evalujeu’ is to support at risk players, and by extension arrest the concerning trajectory of French problem gambling rates.

The support system was established in 2015 and presides over a 31-point question set which have been configured within the framework of Canada’s Problem Gambling Index algorithm. As a consequence, players responding to the survey can surmise their current level of risk, before accessing a plan of suggested activities, which will hopefully serve to reduce their rate of gambling. Proposed actions may include setting deposit, wagering, or in-game time limits, or indeed creating a long-term budgeting strategy to control future spending patterns. The tool’s philosophy is to provide a fully personalized response plan to combat the specific issues faced by the individual accessing the service. To support this endeavour, added updates now allow Evalujeu users to access advice tailored to the verticals they play.

The site now also comes equipped with helpful messages provided by trained healthcare personnel, and engaging reflections offered by previously ‘at risk’ players.

ANJ will be hopeful that these improvements can mitigate against the aforementioned rise in harmful behaviours, with the number of individuals reportedly categorized as problem gamblers more than doubling within the last eight years.