French deputies’ bill seeks new curbs on sports betting adverts, inspired by Loi Évin | OneFootball

A cross-party group of French MPs has filed a bill to rein in sports betting advertising, drawing on the Évin law, as the first 48-team World Cup begins next week.

Lodged on 3 June at the Assemblée nationale by Loiret ecologist Emmanuel Duplessy, 36, the text is co-signed by about 40 MPs from the left to Horizons. The national gambling regulator said on 3 June that stakes in France could reach around 1.2 billion euros during the tournament, which runs from 11 June to 19 July, depending on the Bleus’ progress.

The proposal would tighten sponsorship, prohibiting gambling operators from naming venues and competitions staged in France.

It also seeks to bar public figures, professional athletes and celebrities from advertising campaigns, and to stop influencers promoting operators directly or indirectly. Communication would be limited to print, excluding youth publications, and to television and radio outside slots around sporting events and programmes for minors, with mandatory warnings about excessive or pathological gambling.

Another plank adapts the United Kingdom’s whistle-to-whistle approach, banning operator commercials from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after sporting events or sports programmes, including replays.

Several measures reflect discussions between MPs and the regulator during a review of the 2 March 2022 law on the democratisation of sport in France, whose report was published in February.

Source: L'Équipe