L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the regulatory body for gaming in France, has appointed Pauline Hot to the role of Director General.
Hot, who has been serving as the ANJ’s Deputy Director General since January, will now take on the top executive position within the organization.
Her appointment follows a distinguished career in public service. Since 2020, Hot has served as an auditor and later as a Master of Requests at the prestigious Council of State, France’s highest administrative court.
In this capacity, she was a reporter for the 6th Chamber of the Litigation Section, which handles complex legal disputes, as well as for the Administration Section.
This background provides her with extensive experience in legal interpretation and administrative oversight, skills that are critical for leading a national regulatory authority.
The leadership change comes at a pivotal time for the ANJ. The regulator recently published its 2024 annual report, which detailed a strategic focus on curbing excessive gambling and intensifying efforts against illegal online gaming operators.
The report revealed that in 2024, the ANJ issued nine sanctions against licensed operators, with fines reaching as high as €150,000 ($174,400).
Furthermore, the regulator was highly active in combating unlicensed activity, successfully banning 1,335 illegal URLs from being accessible in France.
ANJ Chair Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin recently emphasized the regulator’s objective to translate its goals into a tangible reduction in the number of problem gamblers and their contribution to operator revenues, a key challenge that will now fall under Hot’s purview as Director General.
