France has formally switched on a new legal framework designed to regulate a fast-growing category of blockchain and Web3 games that sit somewhere between video gaming and gambling.
The regime, overseen by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux, applies to so-called Jeux à Objets Numériques Monétisables, or JONUM. The structure creates a distinct regulatory category for games that involve chance, a financial stake and digital items that can later be resold, but which stop short of offering direct cash winnings.
The framework will run as a three-year experimental model, following implementing decrees that entered into force earlier this month. Its legal foundation was laid in May 2024 under the SREN Act, France’s broader legislation on digital security and online regulation. It is positioned as an experiment rather than a permanent solution, at least for now.
A middle ground between gaming and gambling
JONUM targets titles that allow players to acquire monetisable digital objects such as NFTs or blockchain-based items. These assets may be traded on secondary markets, potentially giving them real-world economic value.
However, the key boundary is explicit. JONUM games cannot offer prizes in legal tender in the way licensed gambling operators do. They must also comply with limits on how digital rewards are distributed, including caps on the cumulative value a single player can receive over time.
By drawing this line, France is attempting to separate blockchain-enabled gaming mechanics from regulated betting, without ignoring the financial risks involved. Whether that line will hold in practice is another question.
Built-in consumer safeguards
Although JONUM does not classify as gambling, the protective architecture resembles that of France’s regulated betting market.
Operators must conduct age and identity verification at account creation. Minors are strictly prohibited from participating. Players must also be provided with tools to manage their activity, including time and spending limits, as well as self-exclusion options. The safeguards are familiar, even if the product category is not.
Transparency is another pillar. Before launching in France, operators must file a declaration with ANJ and agree to ongoing reporting requirements. Where blockchain wallets or decentralised systems are involved, regulators must be given sufficient visibility to monitor transactions, particularly for anti-money laundering compliance.
In effect, France is applying gambling-style consumer protection controls without granting the full economic freedoms of licensed betting. It looks like a compromise model, though it may not satisfy either side fully.
A European first
The launch positions France among the first European jurisdictions to craft a bespoke regulatory lane for monetisable digital object games, rather than simply forcing them under legacy gambling statutes.
Elsewhere in Europe, authorities have taken divergent approaches to related mechanics.
Belgium ruled certain paid loot boxes illegal under national gambling law, prompting publishers to remove the feature. Dutch regulators have also scrutinised loot boxes through existing gambling definitions, at times challenging developers to alter or withdraw products.
The UK Gambling Commission has argued that most loot boxes fall outside its remit because virtual items typically cannot be directly converted into cash. As a result, British policymakers have leaned toward industry-led safeguards rather than formal statutory intervention. The contrast with France is hard to miss.
Testing the regulatory boundary
France’s experiment suggests regulators are no longer content to ignore Web3 mechanics or stretch traditional gambling law to cover them. Instead, ANJ is testing whether a tailored framework can balance innovation, consumer protection and financial oversight.
If the three-year trial succeeds, it could become a template for other European markets wrestling with the blurred line between speculative gaming and gambling.
For developers, the message is clear. Monetisable digital assets are not automatically gambling in France, but they are no longer operating in a regulatory vacuum either. That middle position may prove stable, or it may generate new disputes once the model is stress-tested.