Major operators added to Belgian blacklist
Bwin, Betfair and William Hill among newest additions as sports betting licences are handed out.
Several Power 50 operators, including Betfair, William Hill and bwin.party brand bwin have been added to the Belgian blacklist for unlicensed sites.
Others included in the Belgian Gaming Commission’s (BGC) May update include the dot.com offerings of Betsson, 188Bet, and Betclic Everest brands BetClic, Expekt and bet-at-home.
Peter Naessens (pictured), head of the regulatory unit at the commission, told eGaming Review that reasons for adding operators to the list include the continued acceptance of Belgian players from unlicensed dot.com sites, attracting minors or vulnerable players, or connections with organised crime. He was unable to go into detail about which of these criteria had been fulfilled by the 30 sites which have been blacklisted since the process began in February.
A number of operators have expressed concern about Belgium’s egaming legislation, particularly uncertainty about its compliance with European Union law, however one of those blacklisted – bwin – had applied for land-based and online licences simultaneously in late January, as operators are unable to attain a licence without a land-based property or partnership.
It is currently unclear whether bwin withdrew its applications ahead of the BGC decision, and/or whether it intends to reapply at a later date. A spokesperson for bwin.party was unavailable for comment.
Another of the applicants in late January, media group La Dernière Heure, was one of three companies to receive an online sports betting licence from the BGC (under its Betfirst brand) along with Bingoal and horse betting specialist Vincennes. They join poker and casino licensees including PokerStars, Partouche Interactive and Casino777.
The first names were added to the blacklist in February and included 888 and Everest, while Winamax was blacklisted in the next wave the following month.
In November last year Naessens said he expected the number of blacklisted sites to approach 100 before the end of 2012.
Full list of sites blacklisted in May:
“¢ www.bwin.com
“¢ www.betsson.com
“¢ www.bet-at-home.com
“¢ www.betclic.com
“¢ www.expekt.com
“¢ www.williamhill.com
“¢ www.stanjames.com
“¢ www.betfair.com
“¢ www.188bet.com
“¢ www.betway.com