Belgian regulator clamps down on sports betting advertising
Authorities to implement strict framework on operator sponsorships with Jupiler Pro League clubs
The Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) has committed to strengthening safer gambling initiatives and could potentially ban betting advertising on “certain stages” of sporting matches.
Details of the specific markets included in this prohibition have not been provided, however the BGC has said it “wants to go beyond” current legislatory guidelines in protecting at-risk players.
The admission comes as the BGC revealed new responsible gambling advertising guidelines in partnership with Belgium’s top-tier football division, the Jupiler Pro League.
Under the new guidelines, partnerships between league clubs and gambling operators not directly licensed by the BGC are expressly prohibited.
In turn, when operators are found by the BGC to have breached regulations, or when the BGC strips an operator of its licence, it is now required to inform the firm’s league club partner.
The guidelines obligate operators to include responsible gambling-led messaging in all advertising, as well as including information on the Belgian advice telephone line for at-risk gamblers.
In addition, all inducements to encourage bettors to place bets are banned under the new guidelines, having outlawed “call-to-action” advertising.
As part of its own efforts, the Jupiler Pro League has committed to running gambling-related harm awareness workshops, with a particular focus on youth education groups.
The BGC and the Pro League will also introduce an independent working committee to enhance sporting integrity across sports clubs.
The committee, which will be made up of representatives from both the academic and sports world, will monitor club policies, formulate recommendations for additional measures and assess the effectiveness of the current player-protection framework.
These latest measures aim to build on previously introduced guidelines including a mandatory requirement for Pro League clubs to report all gambling sponsorship deals, as well as requiring the BGC to conduct regular audits of any club with an operator partner.
Elsewhere, the BGC has revealed the fees which will be paid by Belgian-licensed operators as part of its own running costs for 2021.
These fees vary between type of licence and vertical and are between €123 (£111) for a class G2 licence (online gambling) and €22,085 for a class A (land-based casino) licence.