PokerStars awarded Belgium licence
World's largest poker site given official licence after Belgian Gaming Commission launched test phase late last year.
PokerStars has become the first online poker site to be awarded an official online poker licence in Belgium, the company announced in a statement late this afternoon.
The world’s largest online poker site, through its partnership with local brand Circus Groupe and via its dot.be domain, has become one of the first online poker sites in Belgium to be officially granted a licence under the Casino de Namur A+ rating. The news comes after the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) authorised the site late last year during a short test period.
Last week Unibet became the latest operator to apply for an licence there. As with bwin, which applied for a Belgian licence at the end of January, Unibet is only considering a sports betting licence.
Several operators, including PokerStars and Partouche, have seen their licence applications approved by the Belgian Gaming Commission, while media group La Dernière Heure has joined bwin and Unibet in making an application of its own.
Earlier this year Peter Naessens, head of the regulatory unit at the BGC, confirmed that more licences could be awarded in the first half of 2012 as the country prepares to compile a blacklist of unlicensed sites.
Etienne Marique, chairman of the BGC called the move “an important step forward” for the regulation of online gambling in the country. “Not only is the legal framework offering the possibility for operators to offer their online games of chance, but from an economical point of view gambling operators are given opportunities in Belgium.
“All this in an environment that protects players more than illegal websites do “ for example, excluded players cannot play at licensed websites and an average hourly loss is applicable to each player,” he added.
Jean Christophe Choffray, head of online gaming at Circus Groupe, said: “We are delighted that with the great efforts and co-operation of the Gaming Board we have been able to become fully regulated in the Belgium market.”
PokerStars said that Belgian players are able to play in all its international tournaments, including the Sunday Million, World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), as well as cash games.
“PokerStars is proud to be among the first fully-licensed operators in Belgium,” said Guy Templer, PokerStars’ head of business development.
PokerStars’ latest operational license in Belgium follows other approvals in Italy, France, Estonia and Denmark. PokerStars.it launched in October 2008, while its dot.fr site was granted a licence in June 2010, PokerStars.ee in October of the same year, with its dot.dk licence being accepted and approved on 1 January this year.