Belgium issues new sports betting licences
Napoleon Games and GoldenBet the latest approved dot.be sites, while luckygames.be receives B+ licence. Bwin.party still awaiting approval.
Napoleon Games has received approval from the Belgian Gaming Commission to offer online sports betting alongside its games offering, a spokesman from the BGC confirmed to eGaming Review.
The brand, operated by Mystery Games, agreed a deal with Unibet subsidiary Kambi in October to launch a mobile and online sportsbook offering for the Belgian market.
A second F1+ licence for sports betting has been issued to Stargames SA for its goldenbet.be domain – eGR understands the company has no connection to the stargames.com domain which was added to the country’s egaming blacklist last September.
Meanwhile luckygames.be has secured a B+ games licence, however bwin.party is still awaiting approval for its online offering in partnership with Groupe Partouche.
The spokesman explained: “Bwin has to get an E licence [while] Partouche Group has to get a A+ licence for a new website.” Partouche – one of the first sites to secure BGC approval in January 2012 – currently operates from the licensed Partouche.be domain.
Belgium now has seven online sports betting licensees with the addition of Napoleon Games and GoldenBet, with the BGC having revealed last October that the market was unlikely to have room for more than 10 in total.
There are six A+ licensees at present, with PokerStars, Partouche, casino777, Win2Day, Unibet and Jackpot Party all permitted to offer poker and/or casino games.
(Photo via Mike Hammerton under Creative Commons licence)