The government of Belgium plans to introduce a nationwide blanket ban on all forms of gambling advertising, applicable to all games of chance currently legally available both offline and online, with the exclusive exception of the National Lottery.
The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) believes that such a ban will only serve to make it more difficult for players to distinguish between legal and illegal operators, with one in three operators of games of chance advertising on social media in Belgium not holding licences and operating illegally.
BAGO has also questioned the government’s motivation for excluding the National Lottery from the proposed ban, suggesting that concerns for the consumer may not be entirely central. BAGO would prefer the development of a new legal framework, imposing a duty of supervision on the entire legal market in Belgium.
This follows last month’s proposal, also opposed by BAGO, for Belgian players to be required to register for separate online betting and casino accounts, banning the use of a single account for multiple game verticals, and the March restrictions on newsagents’ betting advertising and sales.
