Belgian regulator seeks greater egaming restrictions
Belgian Gaming Commission calls on politicians to ignore the lure of tax and allow it to do more to restrict online gambling
Belgium’s regulator has urged the country’s soon-to-be formed coalition government to empower it to curb the expansion of online gambling with a call for the sector to be “curtailed”.
In the letter following last month’s elections, the Belgium’s Gaming Commission claimed operators weren’t doing enough to protect venerable players and warned that politicians were in danger of being “blinded by gambling money”.
The regulator called on the government to introduce a measure which would see online gaming identity checks made against the national register saying it was “crying in the wilderness” for the measure to be introduced.
The regulator also bemoaned what it judged as being a link between social and real money gaming claiming both industries “care little” about age restrictions or player protection.
“That opens the door for increasing number of addicts and troubled players who get a totally wrong notion about gaming,” the letter said.
“The regulator should be strengthened and the sector curtailed – not drastically, but firm,” it added.
According to gaming lawyer Pieter Peape of law firm Astrea, the letter is a consequence of the market’s success with the regulator now wanting to reduce the number of licence holders.
“The regulator is the one in possession of all the records and data so it is not for me to say if it is correct but it has stressed that the government shouldn’t judge gambling as being similar to other economic industries,” Paepe added.
The Belgium online gaming market is currently under the legal spotlight after the regulator last year received a letter from the European Commission (EC) in which concerns were raised over its compatibility with EU law.
Within the letter, the EC cast doubts over the transparency of the framework, particularly concerning the BGC’s decision to grant the Belgian National Lottery, which enjoys a monopoly on lottery, a permit to offer sports betting both through its land-based outlets and online.
Belgium’s framework also requires remote operators to have a land-based presence in the country, something which could contravene the European right of freedom of movement.