Why are Belgium banning Gambling Advertisements?

A Royal Decree sharply restricting gambling advertising in Belgium was signed by King Philippe and published in the Belgian Official Gazette on Wednesday. This tough new ban on gambling advertisements from 1st July 2023 focuses on a bid to tackle gambling addiction and debt.

An estimated 23.71% of the Belgian population took part in sports betting between October 2021-2022, according to a survey by TGM Research.

But what will this ban entail?

The ban will span across various different platforms - from TV advertisements, social media, public signs and sponsorships of sports clubs by gambling companies will also be regulated under the plan. Under the new legislation, gambling advertisements will be prohibited in stadiums from January 2025, with the ban extending to professional sports clubs from January 2028.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) stated to Euronews that "outright bans are not the answer… without advertising, there is no real way for Belgians to tell the difference between a gambling website which is safe - because it is licensed and applies the consumer protection rules in Belgium - and one that is not".

Tax rules will also be tightened as sponsorship expenses will no longer be deductible for gambling companies.

So what does this mean for Belgian Operators?

There is a high debate now as to whether exemptions shall be introduced to the gambling advertising ban, also leveraging the experience of other European countries. A broad ban was ineffective since it entails distortive behaviours from operators that need to reach their audience and poses higher risks for players since communications are forced to be less transparent. At the same time, the sports sector is considerably suffering from the lack of funds from the gambling market with its rich sponsorship agreements.

We have already seen this in Italian sports teams where the country operates strict gambling advertising laws. Italian teams' income from sponsorships have been damaged by these restrictions and player transfers budgets are not the same as what they were in the past. It's possible we could see the same scenario in Belgian Sports.

With such harsh laws being introduced, the most likely scenario is that Operators will look to other Geos to attract players and the Belgian gambling market will take a short decline until operators and the Belgian Government figure out a longer term solution to continue the industry moving forward within these new laws.

So what does this mean for Players?

There’s no evidence at this stage to suggest that gambling is completely banned for a player. Players can still gamble. The law only suggests a ban on advertisements which would mean Belgian operators can still register players and operate out of Belgium.

But as EGBA stated, ‘without advertising, there is no real way for Belgians to tell the difference between a gambling website which is safe and one that isn’t’. it may become apparent that over time, Belgium's new generation of players could pale in numbers to other European countries with laxer laws and the Belgian iGaming audience could decline.

As unsure as the Belgian iGaming industry looks at present. An outright ban is nothing short of controversial.