IP-Blocking in Belgien

In Belgium, illegal gambling providers are to be kept away from the domestic market via IP blocking. To date, the local gambling supervision “Commission of the Jeux de Hasard” (CJH) was not possible to exclude the non-licensed online casinos from the gaming market. This should change in the future through cooperation with the Belgian regulatory authority for telecommunications, Post and Rundfunk (BIPT).

The Belgian online gambling market is to be protected by illegal casino providers using IP blocking. © Markus Spiske /unsplash.com

Fight against illegal gambling

The gaming market in Belgium is responsible for a liberal interpretation, but is strictly regulated by law. So are allowed Only licensed gambling providers in the country run – Both analog and digital. Industry representatives without a valid concession are classified as illegally. Nevertheless, many licensed online casinos offer their services and products in Belgium. the Games Commission of Chance although the respective gambling providers warn, the authority cannot actually become active due to the lack of options. but now the belgian gambling supervision has put on the reins and announced the fight for the illegal gambling in the country. together with the bipt, non-licensed providers should banished quickly and efficiently from the market will. ip blocking serves as a primary measure, which has not yet been used. the regulatory authority for telecommunications, post and radio has the years of it experience sufficient expertise in the field and is a valuable ally in Fight against illegal gambling.

Warnings ignored To date, the CJH has pronounced warnings of illegal online casinos and asked them to leave the Belgian gaming market. However, only a few industry players fulfilled the request. Only established and large names of the industry that do not have a license for the Belgian market would have blocked their offer for Belgian players – e.g. Bet365. However, newer and smaller providers from the EU area tended to categorically ignore the warnings of the CJH.

Player protection before illegal gambling offers

Non-licensed gaming providers such as Online casinos without license from USA are not subject to regulatory and control instances. In principle, this enables dubious and player -damaging business practicesthat wants to prevent belgian gambling legislation under all circumstances. for this reason, online casinos without a valid concession are to be kept away from the market by ip blocking-but not enough! the bipt should not only contribute to the fight against illegal gambling through ip blocking. the authority should be via any information campaigns do important educational work and so sensitize the player community for the illegal online gambling. the belgian internet and radio providers should also play an important role. magali clavie, chairman of the cjh, is euphoric given the upcoming cooperation with bipt. in his opinion, the player protection in belgium benefit enormously from the cooperation:

“The synergy between the two regulatory authorities will enable it to intensify and optimize the fight against the illegal online gambling. Our collaboration marks an important step in the Belgian gaming industry, since according to estimates, around a quarter of the players have unknowingly played on illegal gambling platforms. ”– Magali Clavie, Chairman of the CJH Official press release from the CJH

Black list of online casinos

The preparatory work for IP blocking has already been done. The CJH has been running a “black list” on which itself Countless online casinos without valid license Consists – a total of 348 platforms. According to Belgian media reports, however, the list led is never accurate, since many illegal providers would minimally change their URL addresses to avoid warning.

List grows The CJH had recently reported that 122 new gambling providers of the black list had already been added in the young year 2023. In March alone there were around 30 providers.

Tightening the gambling law

The planned IP blocking is not the only measure to protect and regulate the Belgian gaming market more. For example, Stefaan van Hecke, Belgian politician and Member of the Parliament, presented a draft law in the past February bring more restrictions would. Among other things, a ban on gambling and the increase in the minimum age is planned to 21 years. The neighboring country of the Netherlands already has With inadmissible gambling advertising to fight. in contrast, the abolition of the so -called “machines 3.3” in the hospitality industry caused a lot of hustle and bustle. the Slot machines with low operations and low profits would have spread enormously in recent years. In some cases, the devices can be found in gastronomic facilities that are near youth centers and schools.

Not a full game of chance To date, it is not possible to stop the spread of “Machines 3.3”. The play equipment is not considered a full gambling by the legal framework. As a result, neither a general ban can be expressed nor a weakening of the development. According to Van Hecke, however, it is urgently needed to completely abolish the slot machines. This is the only way to better protect the player community.