Belgium Proposes Online Gambling Licences

Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

The Belgium's government proposal to issue online licences solely to existing operators could be found non-compliant within European Union law.

Announced in March by the Belgium government's gambling minister, Secretary of State Carl Devlies, the draft legislation to license and regulate internet gambling has been brought to the attention of both the government's judicial branch, the Conseil d'État, and to the European Commission.

Casinos, gaming halls and sports betting operators already doing business in Belgium will be allowed to expand their operations to the internet for the first time. While Secretary Devlies' proposal would basicly legalize online gambling in Belgium, the licensing system presented is a highly restrictive one, according to Perrine Pelletier, attorney at Brussels-based law firm ULYS.

The legal document states, "Only those companies in possession of a licence in the real world will be able to offer those same activities in the virtual world. Thus, a casino operator in possession of a supplementary licence would be able to offer only casino games via the internet and not, for example, sports betting."

Online operators must have all their services supplied in Belgium to ensure government oversight, while foreign operators would be restricted from the highly regulated market via Internet Service Provider filtering measures. The Belgian Gaming Commission will be expected to create and maintain a restricted list of foreign operators.

According to Pelletier "This close link between online and offline licences presents quite a problem with regards EU law, and also in terms of market realities in the gambling sector," "Belgium isn't such a huge market for online operators, who may not want to develop offline businesses. We therefore question whether the requirement to have a physical presence in Belgium constitutes a restriction on the freedom of establishment guaranteed by European law."

The European Commission must rule on the proposed act by June 29, Belium may withdraw its proposal in the knowledge that it may have to be rewritten.

"We can definitely say that the Gaming Commission and the government are both well aware of the need to reform existing legislation to adapt to the reality of the internet," Pelletier concluded.