The Belgian Gaming Commission has added a further five domains to its blacklist of unauthorised websites to be blocked by internet service providers in the country.
BetVictor’s main dot.com domain is the highest-profile new inclusion on a list that already includes leading pan-European online operators such as bet365, William Hill, Betfair, 888 and Betsson.
The addition of BetVictor.com, Casinograndluxe.com, Cityclubcasino.com, Monacasino.com and Royaalcasino.com takes the takes the total number of blocked domains on the Commission’s hit list to 74, albeit a tiny number compared to the 4,300+ on Italian regulator AAMS’ list of ISP-blocked sites, which has proved largely ineffective.
Less than half of Belgium’s ISPs are actually blocking sites on the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) blacklist, it emerged during February’s hearing into Bet-At-Home’s unsuccessful legal action aimed at getting its domains removed.
With the BGC restricting online permits to licensed land-based gaming and betting entities in the country, several online operators have chosen to partner or enter JVs with these land-based entities in order to launch legal Belgian websites.
PokerStars, bwin and PartyPoker brand owner bwin.party, Unibet and WMS-owned Jackpot Party are among the operators which have managed to launch dot.be websites through partnerships with land-based casinos in the country.
Under the Belgian Royal Decree that came into force at the start of 2011, there are nine A+ licences on offer to casinos, 34 F1+ permits to sports betting operators and around 180 B+ licences to arcade operators.
Online operators without a Belgian licence run the risk of fines of up to €100,000 for “facilitating”, “advertising” or “recruiting” for illegal games of chance in Belgium. Players in the country also face fines of up to €25,000 for playing on sites that haven’t been licensed by the Commission.
The EU Member State has been subject to a string of legal actions from online operators regarding the compliance of its licensing regime with European and local law, including Betfair and Telebet in 2011 and bwin.party and Bet-At-Home in 2012. Bwin.party eventually settled its action by entering its BGC-approved partnership with the Partouche Group.
Article written by Stephen Carter
