SPS Betting just got hit with a massive fine. The French gambling authority, ANJ, penalized the company for failing to properly enforce its auto-exclusion system. This issue on Unibet affected thousands of players over nearly two years.

  • The ANJ’s sanctioning commission reviewed the case on January 22, 2025, confirming multiple failures by SPS Betting regarding the auto-exclusion system on Unibet. The decision led to an 800,000 € fine and mandatory public disclosure of the ruling.

  • The issue, first identified in 2021, affected iOS users on Unibet.fr. Due to a system glitch, exclusion requests lasting months were converted into days, allowing players to resume gambling much sooner than intended.

  • Thousands of players who sought temporary exclusion were impacted. A user requesting a 12-month exclusion, for example, was only blocked for 12 days. The issue persisted despite regulations requiring a clear, enforceable exclusion period of up to 12 months.

  • The failure occurred between March 2, 2021, and December 11, 2022. Even after being fixed, a system update reintroduced the glitch from December 29, 2022, to February 2, 2023. This meant the issue lasted nearly 22 months.

  • Given the prolonged duration and the high number of affected players, the ANJ deemed the violation severe, particularly concerning responsible gambling measures. Alongside the fine, the ruling mandates public disclosure in the Journal officiel, Unibet’s homepage, and the ANJ website.

  • The penalty also includes a public notice on Unibet platforms from March 17 to March 31, 2025. The ANJ will maintain a non-anonymized record of the decision on its website until March 3, 2026, after which the operator’s identity will no longer be publicly linked to the case.

  • SPS Betting has two months from notification to appeal the decision before the French Council of State. This potential legal challenge could influence future enforcement actions against gambling operators.

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