France Implements JONUM Rules for Web3 Games

France has activated a new regulatory structure for games built around monetisable digital objects, strengthening oversight of blockchain-based entertainment products.

Decree No. 2026-60 of February 4, 2026 entered into force on February 7, 2026, bringing the experimental framework for Jeux à Objets Numériques Monétisables (JONUM) into operation. Lawmakers first introduced the category under the SREN Act adopted in May 2024. The regime will run for three years and applies to online games that combine features found in video gaming and gambling.

Defining the JONUM Model

The law sets cumulative conditions for classification as JONUM. A game must involve a financial sacrifice, include an element of chance, operate through an online public communication service and allow users to obtain monetisable digital objects (ONUM). These may take the form of non-fungible tokens or utility tokens that players can resell on secondary markets.

Operators cannot award cash prizes similar to those offered by licensed gambling products. Authorities also set limits on reward distribution, including caps on the total value of digital assets an individual may receive. The decree allows companies to provide ancillary rewards, subject to defined nature and capping rules.

Lawmakers opted for a lighter regime than that imposed on gambling operators while maintaining consumer safeguards.

Oversight and Player Safeguards

Companies seeking to offer JONUM services must submit a prior declaration to the Autorité Nationale des Jeux before launch. They must ensure transparent reporting, maintain activity logs and provide transaction tracking access where blockchain or wallets are used so the regulator can monitor compliance and anti-money laundering obligations.

Operators must verify the age and identity of players at account creation, and minors are barred from participation. They must also introduce responsible gambling tools, including options to set limits on play time and weekly spending, along with self-exclusion mechanisms.

By establishing a distinct legal category, France separates blockchain-based gaming mechanics from traditional gambling while applying comparable protective measures.

Diverging Approaches Across Europe

France’s move positions it among the first European jurisdictions to craft a bespoke model for games featuring monetisable digital items rather than relying solely on existing gambling statutes.

Elsewhere in Europe, regulators have responded differently to mechanics such as paid loot boxes. In Belgium, authorities determined that certain paid loot boxes violated national gambling laws, prompting some publishers to remove them from games offered in that market.

Regulators in the Netherlands have examined loot boxes under existing gambling frameworks and challenged developers to alter or withdraw systems resembling games of chance.

In the United Kingdom, the Gambling Commission concluded that most loot boxes fall outside the scope of the Gambling Act 2005 because virtual items typically cannot be converted directly into cash. The government and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport opted against immediate legislative changes, encouraging industry-led safeguards instead. This approach included backing guidance from UK Interactive Entertainment to restrict loot boxes to users aged 18 and over.

Through the JONUM experiment, France has chosen a structured oversight model that targets blockchain-based gaming specifically, while continuing to monitor consumer protection and financial risk.

Source:

“Games with monetizable digital objects (JONUM)”, anj.fr, February 2026