L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), French gambling’s new unified regulatory agency, has signed a ‘cross border cooperation agreement’ with Netherlands counterpart Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) on issues related to market integrity.
The agreement signed by ANJ Director-General Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin and KSA Chairman René Jansen will see the regulatory bodies share data and best practices in strategic areas related to money laundering, operator conduct and consumer protections.
Confirming its partnership, the ANJ and KSA stated that although French and Dutch regulatory frameworks remained independent, both regulatory agencies held common principles on how to safeguard their online gambling marketplaces.
As the KSA moves to launch the Netherlands regulated online gambling marketplace on 1 September 2021, the Dutch agency has formed collaborative agreements with Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
The KSA has previously underlined the importance of cooperation pacts with European regulatory counterparts as a means of verifying the management of licensees wanting to join the Dutch market.
Speaking to industry leadership last month, Jansen stated that the KSA would uphold the strictest licensing procedure for incumbents, verifying executive teams, databases and previous market conduct.
Meanwhile, taking responsibility for French gambling last June, the ANJ confirmed that it would work with France’s former regulatory agencies and government departments to develop a centralised reporting system for all forms of French gambling.
In its June update, Falque-Pierrotin disclosed that the governing body had prioritised the development of two reference frameworks for French federal gambling protections and a second for licence holders’ AML and conduct duties.