France’s ANJ appoints replacement director general
French national gambling regulator l’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) has announced the appointment of Pauline Hot as its new director general.
Hot will take on the regulator’s top position after serving as deputy director general since January. An École Normale Supérieure graduate, Hot previously worked as an auditor and master of requests at the Council of State.
She is a former student of national graduate school, École normale supérieure, and the École nationale d’administration, a former institution that trained civil servants.
Hot replaces Rémi Lataste, who led the ANJ for the past five years. Lataste said on LinkedIn he would be departing the ANJ to become director general of Campus Condorcet, Paris’s inter-university campus.
Reflecting on his time at the helm, Lataste praised the regulator’s work across several key areas. These include protecting minors, preventing excessive gambling and combating money laundering, illegal activity and sports manipulation.
“In five years, we have built the foundations of impact regulation,” Lataste said. “We have moved the lines on the various missions entrusted to the ANJ.
“Nothing would have been possible without the exceptional human collective of the ANJ. Extraordinary women and men from different backgrounds, committed, demanding, creative. A team in an organised gang that upholds the missions entrusted to it and the values of public service.”
ANJ consults on France’s iGaming future
The change in leadership comes as the ANJ continues to work with the French government on the future of iGaming in the country.
In its 2024 annual report released last month, ANJ said it had participated in a consultation with the current and previous French governments over the possibility of legalising iGaming in France. At present, only sports betting, poker and lotteries are legal online in France.
Casino games remain limited to land-based venues despite calls from operators to open a regulated market. However, ANJ advised any regulation must be “carefully considered” due to what it described as the “highly addictive nature” of iGaming.
As the regulator’s new director general, Hot will likely play a major role in future talks over the subject.