The Belgian government has put forward a plan to completely prohibit gambling advertisements.
This prohibition would encompass all forms of promotion for lottery games presently authorized in Belgium, including online and physical venues, excluding the national lottery.
The proposal has been met with strong resistance from the local operator association Bago, which asserts that the ban will not be advantageous for consumers and will make it more challenging for players to differentiate between legitimate operators and those operating illegally.
Bago references a recent investigation conducted by Ghent University, which revealed that one-third of operators promoting lottery games on social media platforms in Belgium lacked a license within the country and were consequently operating unlawfully.
Consequently, Bago argues that prohibiting legitimate operators from advertising could result in an increase in consumers engaging in gambling activities with these unlicensed operators, who do not provide the same safeguards as those authorized to offer gambling services within the nation.
Bago also highlighted that the prohibition doesn’t encompass the National Lottery, which is Belgium’s most substantial gambling advertiser, representing about 40% of all gambling advertisements in the nation.
Bago stated that despite this, studies indicate that no form of gambling is entirely risk-free, for instance, scratch cards carry similar hazards to sports betting. “Consequently, one must question whether the government’s decision in this matter is genuinely consumer-focused.”
Moreover, Bago censured the government for failing to consult with the gambling sector before proposing the prohibition, despite the Justice Minister asserting that the concept had been discussed with legal operators.
Bago proposed a comprehensive legal structure, rather than an outright ban, which would impose regulatory responsibilities on the entire legal market in Belgium.
This would entail requiring operators to monitor player conduct, proactively inform users of any alterations in their behavior, and provide them with the opportunity to set spending limits and take breaks themselves, Bago stated.
“Currently, an increasing number of legal operators are employing algorithms and artificial intelligence to swiftly identify emerging problem gambling behaviors and offer solutions to players, including suggesting they enroll on the EPIS [self-exclusion] list,” said Bago chairman Tom De Clercq.
“If we aim to effectively combat gambling addiction, this is the path forward.”
The Belgian administration has put forward a new regulation that would mandate players to establish distinct accounts for internet gambling and casino activities on separate online platforms. This proposition is an element of a modification to a 2019 legislative act that prohibited operators from providing diverse game types on the same digital platform.
The initial legislation permitted players to utilize different web addresses from the same operator to engage in games. However, the coalition government currently suggests prohibiting the use of a single account for multiple game categories.
The Belgian government has also implemented fresh limitations on wagering sums, betting durations, and promotional materials at kiosks within the nation in March.
This action follows worries about kiosk gambling that emerged after the acquisition of the national postal service Bpost’s retail network by gambling operator Napoleon Games.
Starting March 5th, kiosks are only allowed to accept wagers between 6 am and 8 pm, and the total wagering amount per establishment cannot surpass €250,000 (£214,190/$264,026) annually.
Kiosks are required to display at least 200 distinct current daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers and periodicals and generate at least €25,000 in annual sales from these publications.
Every retail location, regardless of whether it’s inside or outside, must limit the total advertising space dedicated to betting services to a maximum of 3 square meters. Betting ads should constitute no more than 20% of all advertising at the point of sale.
In physical newspaper retail outlets, the space allocated for betting should not surpass one-fifth of the total retail area, with a maximum area of 10 square meters.
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