The Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CDV), which is currently the opposition party in Belgium, has proposed for some amendments to be made in the gambling legislation of the country. It has called for further restrictions to be made in Belgium’s legal gambling industry, and more specifically, for the legal age to be raised from 18 to 21 years.
The proposal of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party includes increasing the age limit on all forms of gambling, including casino, sports betting and lottery services. It has been aimed at making this amendment in the existing gambling laws in order to take a better care of local customers and protect minors and more vulnerable people from being affected by the negative effects of gambling.
Apart from the proposal for raising the legal age from 18 to 21 years, members of the Parliament from the CDV party also called for the local legislature to review Belgium’s Gambling Act of 2009. The main idea of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party is that the effectiveness of the current gambling law of the country could be better, and that it should definitely be re-considered and reviewed, especially taking into account the increasing number of international companies that operate in the country up to date.
A different gaming legislation has also been unveiled by the Government of the country in July 2016. At that time, the Value-Added Tax (VAT) was implemented to iGaming services offered on the territory of Belgium. At the end, they came up with the decision for a VAT exemption.
The most recent gambling regulatory amendments have been made six years ago by the local authorities, but like the situation in other European countries, they were not absolutely clear. In addition, the country has blacklisted certain operators, and the list has grown significantly since 2012. Also, the Belgian Gaming Commission has warned Belgian citizens that they could be legally punished in case they choose to place wages on such blacklisted websites, including some major online gambling companies such as William Hill, Betfred, Betfair, BetVictor, Stan James, etc.
Recently, Belgium has been on the way to certain amendments in its gambling legislation. In June 2017, the country’s Justice Minister Koen Geens called for an gambling products advertising ban. Mr. Geens suggested a complete ban on gambling advertisements on television during live sporting events broadcasts. He also insisted that gambling advertisements should be banned on TV until 8 PM and called for fines and penalties for operators who breach both the new and already existing gambling restrictions in the country.
In addition, Belgium’s Gambling Minister proposed that a ban should be imposed on gambling services adverts that seem to promote excessive gambling behaviours. Also, warnings for the possible negative effects of problem gambling behaviour should also be made on a regular basis, according to Mr. Geens.
- Author
Daniel Williams
