Belgium to strengthen gambling ads restriction

The Justice Minister of Belgium is preparing a legislation that would impose tougher gambling advertising restrictions.

Belgium.- Koen Geens, Justice Minister of Belgium, is trying to change the current legislations in the country in order to strengthen the restriction on gambling advertising. The measure has allegedly the full support of the Belgium Gaming Commission (BGC).

As CalvinAyre said, local media nieuwsblad.be reported that the Minister’s proposal includes a prohibition on advertising gambling products on television before 8 pm, and the ads would be completely blocked during live sports events. The proposal establishes that the ads cannot be seen on screen banners during games or even in traditional commercials during game breaks or traditional TV.

The allowed ads would also face further restrictions if the local gaming commission believes that they promote an imprudent amount of gambling activity. Koen Geen also proposed the implementation of obligatory problem gambling warnings in marketing campaigns, and a severe consequence for those who don’t follow the rules.

Last year, Belgium’s government set a new gaming legislation to add the Value-Added Tax –VAT– to online gambling services. The decision ended the VAT exemption the industry had been under. The economic and gaming regulation established that lotteries and land-based casinos are not included in the payment group. The Finance Minister established that the new system was valid since August 2016.