Belgium’s government is considering regulating online gaming for the first time, according to press reports coming out of the region.
Marc Callu from the Belgian games of chance commission has called on the government to recognise legitimate egaming sites in order to safeguard consumers.
Land-based casino gaming is legal in Belgium, but the facility to extend that licensing regime to the internet is not possible under existing legislation.
And Callu has urged the government to make the changes necessary to begin licensing online gambling sites.
According to press reports in Belgium, Callu is pressing for swift action and said that “time is of the essence”.
Belgium is a relatively small market with just under 2% of internet users in the European Union, but any move to regulate egaming could have much broader implications for other EU countries.
Many industry insiders have predicted that if the UK continues with its plans to introduce a licensing regime for egaming sites, then many other EU countries will follow suit.
And a similar move by another EU nation such as Belgium could place considerable pressure on fellow EU nations to enact their own legislation in order to avoid losing substantial taxable income to their neighbours.
source : egaming review magazine
