Belgium Blacklists More Online Poker Operators

The beginning of 2012 saw a liberalized Belgian online gambling market as the country introduced a new system based on issued licenses. However, those operators who continue to offer their poker services to players in Belgium are now finding their names on an ever-growing list of blacklisted companies.

There are now 30 operators on the blacklist and some of the bigger companies include 888, Titan Poker, Betsson, Everest Poker and Stan James. Just added to the list are online gambling giants Betfair, William Hill and Bwin. The operators who continue to break the laws face fines up to €100,000 for advertising, recruiting or facilitating illegal games of change to Belgian players. However, the government is also cracking down on the players themselves who can be fined up to €25,000 for gambling on unlicensed sites. The Belgium Gaming Commission is also fully prepared to take further steps by having internet service providers block unlicensed sites.

The blacklisted operators were announced at the same time as the Commission gave licenses to 3 Belgian-based offline sports betting companies. An additional 20 licenses were given to physical arcade gaming operators and 4 to land-based casino operators. Due to its partnership with Circus Groupe, a Belgian casino owner, PokerStars is the only operator without an offline license in Belgium to be given an online license.

According to the Belgian Royal Decree which was established last year, licenses will only be awarded to Belgian gaming companies that already have a land-based operating license.