Belgium-facing operators refute regulator concerns
Ladbrokes and Unibet insist player protection methods are robust as regulator calls for greater verification checks
Belgium-facing online operators have come out in defence of their player protection methods after the country’s regulator criticised the current standard of player identity checks and called for additional powers.
Following an open letter to Belgium’s legislators, in which the Belgian Gaming Authority (BGA) accused the country of failing to protect the venerable from gambling, both Unibet and Ladbrokes said that while they supported new ways to protect the public, they currently employ vigorous safety measures.
According to Unibet legal counsel Ewout Keuleers, Belgium’s verification checks, particularly in relation to minors, are some of the most robust in regulated Europe.
“The registration process under a dot.be license is based upon access to local databases that guarantees the identity “ including date of birth “ of the player,” Keuleers told eGaming Review.
“So in terms of the protection minors, I think Belgium “ using e-ID based technology similar to Estonia and Spain “ is actually at the forefront of online identification of players in a seamless and user friendly manner,” he added.
Kueleers also said Belgium was on a par with Denmark when it came to responsible gambling, with it being one of a few countries to have adopted a central self-exclusion system “ an idea currently being explored by the UK.
Ladbrokes Belgium digital director Ian Catchick said his firm “prides itself on being a responsible operator” and took its responsibility of protecting the venerable from gambling “very seriously”.
“At Ladbrokes we have taken measures to introduce self-exclusion policies, think 21 activities in shops and enhanced due diligence of all digital customers during the registration process,” Catchick said.
In calling current player verification methods “inadequate”, the BGA has requested that all online player identity checks be made through the national registry so to sieve out those who may be in financial debt and to further prevent the underage from gambling.
The BGA also said it would like to reduce the size of the online market in Belgium, despite recently granting the National Lottery a sports betting licence “ a controversial decision which looks set to be challenged in the courts by land-based operator Stanleybet.