European Commission Reviews Belgian Online Casino Rules

But the new Belgian regulations are so strict, an EC ruling in favor of the new online casino rules is hardly a sure thing.

Belgium has decided to comply with EU free trade rules and permit online gambling to compete with the country's licensed land-based gaming industry. But the new Belgian regulations are so strict, an EC ruling in favor of the new online casino rules is hardly a sure thing.

Legislation proposed to legalize Internet gambling in Belgium has been prepared by the country's gambling minister, Carl Devlies, and advanced to the EC and Belgium's judicial review branch.

The suggested regulations would legalize online casinos, but would place strict requirements on licensing. Perhaps the most significant stumbling block is a rule that all licensees have a permit for casino gambling, slot machine operation, or bookmaking in Belgium.

“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,” said Brussels attorney Perrine Pelletier to Gambling Compliance. "We question whether the requirement to have a physical presence in Belgium constitutes a restriction on the freedom of establishment guaranteed by European law.”

Each land-based license would only allow the holder to offer similar Internet services. The Proposal states, "...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.”

Foreign online gambling operators without licenses would be blacklisted, and attempts at setting up blocks through Internet service providers would be made, despite the failure of such moves in the US, Australia, and elsewhere..