Betsson France has won an online poker licence from France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), which also cleared it to join the shared poker liquidity system with Italy, Spain and Portugal, in two decisions adopted on 15 October 2026.
The ANJ’s college granted the online poker approval in decision 2026-171 and the liquidity-sharing authorisation in decision 2026-172, according to the minutes of the ANJ college meeting of 15 October. Both decisions were published on the regulator’s website on 21 October.
Betsson France poker approval
The approval covers “jeux de cercle”, the category French law uses for online poker. Under the 2010 law that opened France’s online market, approvals run for 5 years and can be renewed, which puts Betsson France’s poker licence on a renewal cycle to October 2031.
A day after the college vote, ANJ President Pascal Chevremont signed decision 2026-PR-120, which homologates Betsson France’s “Plateforme Poker” software. The file was submitted on 22 June 2026 and registered under homologation number 0061-PO-HOM-001. The ANJ published the decision on 29 October.
Shared liquidity
The liquidity authorisation lets Betsson France seat French players at shared tables and tournaments under the 2017 agreement between the gambling regulators of France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Players from the 4 markets can meet in the same games.
Playtech’s iPoker
The ANJ documents do not name the software supplier. Betsson pointed to Playtech, citing its own poker experience and “the quality of Playtech’s iPoker offering” as reasons for the launch, according to NEXT.io.
Betsson said the launch builds on the sports betting business in France, where the ANJ granted Betsson France its first approval in 2023 (decision 2023-197). Online casino remains banned in France, and Betsson said the poker move is not a bet on that changing.
“Our decision is based on the French poker market as it stands today, rather than expectations of future regulatory change. Any extension of the regulated offering is a matter for French lawmakers, and we would not speculate on that process,” Betsson told NEXT.io.
Next steps
With the licence, the liquidity authorisation and the software homologation in place, Betsson France can open its poker room in France; Betsson has not given a launch date. More on the group is on our Betsson page, including its FY2025 results, and on the regulator’s ANJ page.
Source: Autorité nationale des jeux
