Belgian companies agree to stop advertising
Five Belgian gambling companies have agreed to stop advertising on radio, TV and print media
Belgium.- Belgian companies have decided to stop all advertising on radio, TV and print media from January 1. The five companies represent 65% of the legal gambling business in the country, and are also looking into stopping advertising on the streets as well.
The companies are Golden Palace Casino, Ardent Group, Napoleon Games, Unibet and Betfirst, De Tijd reported. They approached the Minister of Justice under the BAGO organisation with the initiative to stop advertising.
The companies expect to create empathy with the general public with the self-imposed ban. They had been criticised after the 2018 World Cup for the number of ads during games. Politicians were also against primetime advertising on TV and online.
Emmanuel Mewissen, the CEO of Ardent, said: “We are aware of the excessive presence of gambling advertising in recent years. With this initiative we want to bring serenity back.”
While the complaints about advertising included the online sector, this initiative doesn’t stop ads on the internet. “An online advertising stop is impossible, because otherwise we will be blown away by the illegal sector,” said Mewissen. “The whole purpose of the new Gaming Act in 2010 was to curb the illegal sector by giving legal companies enough freedom.
The advertising stop also doesn’t apply to sponsorship: the five companies feature their brand on nine Belgian football clubs.
The five companies urge equal treatment in the market
The private sector is reportedly colliding with the National Lottery. They argue that the National Lottery is also a game of chance and that there is little difference between their products and the Lottery’s. “The National Lottery [is] also a game of chance,” the companies said.
“But they’re exempt from all restrictions on advertising that apply to us, also because the Lottery [is] involved in the cockpit of the gambling commission via the government. That makes the Loterij the party and the judge. We want to work out our agreement with the government into a rule for the entire sector.”
