France has notified the European Commission of draft technical regulations setting out the data reporting obligations for operators of Jeux à Objets Numériques Monétisables (JONUM), the country’s blockchain gaming framework that entered operation in February 2026.
The notification was submitted through the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), the EU mechanism used under Directive 2015/1535 to allow member states to review national technical rules for digital services before they take full effect. The process gives other EU member states the opportunity to assess whether French measures comply with European law and single market obligations — and to raise formal objections if they do not.
What the regulations require
The draft sets out the format and content of data files that JONUM operators must submit to the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), France’s national gambling regulator. The underlying requirements originate in Decree No. 2026-60, signed on 4 February 2026, which brought the JONUM framework into force on 7 February 2026.
Under the decree, operators must transmit detailed data across three categories. Player profile data is required, covering account information and identity verification records. Gaming session data must be recorded and reported, documenting player activity and behaviour during play. The third category covers financial transactions tied to the purchase, exchange, or transfer of monetisable digital objects on secondary markets.
Beyond those three data streams, the decree specifies the technical file format operators must use when transmitting these datasets to the ANJ. The standardised structure is designed to integrate with the regulator’s supervisory monitoring tools, improving oversight efficiency and enabling consistent data exchange across the operator base. Requiring a uniform format — rather than leaving each operator to determine their own reporting structure — reduces the analytical burden on the ANJ and makes cross-operator data comparison more straightforward.
The JONUM framework in context
JONUM is a three-year experimental regime covering online games that combine features of traditional video gaming with monetisable blockchain-based assets. Players can acquire digital objects — typically non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other blockchain-based tokens — that carry real-world economic value and can be traded on secondary markets. Unlike licensed gambling products, JONUM titles are prohibited from paying out cash prizes. Digital assets constitute the maximum permissible reward, and caps apply to the total value of assets an individual player may receive over time.
The category was established under Articles 40 and 41 of the SREN Act — France’s Law to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space — enacted in May 2024. The framework also imposes age and identity verification requirements at account creation, with minors barred from access. Operators must provide responsible gambling tools, including time and weekly spending limits and self-exclusion mechanisms. Where games use blockchain infrastructure or digital wallets, operators must grant the ANJ transaction tracking access to support anti-money laundering oversight. The six permitted game categories are action games, fantasy sports, adventure titles, racing games, breeding games, and management games. Casino-style mechanics are expressly prohibited.
The European regulatory landscape
No EU-wide framework exists for blockchain-based gaming products. Individual member states have taken sharply different approaches. Belgium classified paid loot boxes in certain video games as illegal gambling, prompting publishers to remove those features from the Belgian market. The Netherlands applied similar scrutiny under existing gambling law. The UK Gambling Commission concluded that most loot boxes fall outside the scope of the Gambling Act 2005 and declined to legislate, directing publishers toward industry self-regulation instead.
France’s JONUM model — a distinct legal category with its own compliance architecture — sits between outright prohibition and regulatory inaction. Poland is considering a separate amendment to its gambling law that would create a new category for in-game purchases with randomly awarded prizes, though that legislation remains in draft form.
France has previously influenced EU-level regulation through domestic innovation. The 2019 PACTE Act’s framework for digital asset service providers served as a direct model for the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which entered full force in December 2024.
EU-level implications
The TRIS notification introduces a European dimension to France’s JONUM experiment. While gambling regulation remains a member state competence, technical regulations for digital services are subject to EU-level scrutiny to prevent single market fragmentation. The Commission and other member states now have an opportunity to review the French measures and, if necessary, raise objections requiring France to revise its technical specifications before the regulations take full effect.
France has positioned JONUM as a potential template for other European jurisdictions handling blockchain-based gaming products that fall outside traditional gambling definitions. How the Commission and member states respond to the TRIS notification will be an early indicator of whether that template attracts broader European backing. The ANJ has not published a timeline for the conclusion of the review process.
Source: Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ)
