Belgian play has a long history that testify to the earliest types of gambling dates back to the mid of the 1300′s. Currently, the country hosts many Belgium bookmakers, and the peculiarities of offshore sports betting legislation are thoroughly developed. This article explores the current and historical legislation and regulation of gambling in Belgium, the authority responsible for regulation, types of licenses, and the major production and achievement in the sports betting.
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Table of Contents
Summary of Key Events
Evolution of Gambling in Belgium
Belgian history evidence shows that gambling and betting started as early as the 1300s, included card games and lottery. The formal creation of gambling in the nation commenced with the beginning of the national lottery system in the 15th century.
Key Historical Milestones
- 1930s: A very interesting and highly tempting are card games and lotteries.
- 1940s: Knokke has its grand casino but during the Second World War, the structure is burnt down.
- 1960s: This casino starts the year-round operation previously available only during the summer season.
- 1980s: Additional changes add to the facilities’ reputation of the Grand Casino.
- 1999: The process of legalization of gambling together with the creation of the Belgian Gaming Commission.
- 2011: Consideration of the legislation on online gambling through the case of the Belgian Gaming Act.
Gambling Laws and Legislation
Gambling Law adopted on May 7 1999
This offers a legal perspective on the subject, and according to it gambling is defined as a game of chance whereby any commitment of a stake is done and results are based on chance. This legislation remained as a major landmark legislation as it provided for licensing as well as regulation of all forms of gambling in Belgium.
Belgian Gaming Commission
The Belgian Gaming Commission or the BGC was created in 1999 and has the primary responsibility of licensing and regulating betting and gambling in the territory of Belgium. The memberships of the BGC are drawn from most of the governmental departments such as justice, financial/currency, economic planning, interior, and health.
Major Legislative Changes
- 2011: Belgian Gaming Act legalizes the internet gambling and ties it with the land based one.
- 2023: New legislation adopted under Royal Decree regulates advertising strictly for both, the land based and the online gambling.
Licenses of Belgium Bookmakers
Belgium categorizes the licenses based on the kind of gambling and the following are the common ones offered to operators: Each State has some condition attached to the license and charges also differ from one license to another license.
License Categories
- License A: To define Class I gaming establishments, or casinos. Issued for fifteen years with nine actually in force in October 2023.
- License B: For class II gaming establishments commonly referred to as gaming arcades. Awarded for 9 years, with 175 working licenses.
- License B+: In particular, the manuscript focused on online gaming arcades. Similar to that of License B with 49, Active licenses only.
- License C: For class III gaming establishments (bars), the minimum amount that must be remitted from the slot operations is analyzed as follows: Issued for five years, with 4,746 permits actively in use unless the government revoked them.
- License D: For business activity for class I, II or IV gaming establishments. Unlimited in number.
- License F1: In the case of class IV gaming establishments (organizers of bets). Issued for a term of nine years with 30 active licenseable instruments.
- License F1+: Finally, for providing online bets, Wimbledon opens for its fans in the month of June. 24 Active licenses same as License F1.
- License F1P: In particular, various types of bets on horse races were distinguished: direct and combined, express and system ones. Same as License F1.
- License F2: For accepting bets for Account Holder being a holder of the F1 license. Issued for a three years period and currently; the number of active betting shops is 467.
Regulatory of Belgium Bookmakers
The most important regulatory authority of Belgium is the Belgian Gaming Commission which governs all kinds of gambling. It also maintains the compliance of the law and fine organizations that do not have the right license.
Prohibited and Allowed Bets
Belgium has specific restrictions concerning the allowed types of bets. They can include no more than two gambling machines and the average hourly losses cannot exceed EUR 12 in betting shops. 50. Also, there are daily/weekly withdrawal restrictions depending on the gambling site, all bonuses related to gambling, and the use of credit card are prohibited.
Gambling Taxes and Fees
Taxes and fees are charged on both the conventional and over the Internet gambling exercises. These include:
- License Fees: Depends on the type of license There are two type of license for gambling license A for casino and license B for the gaming arcade.
- Taxes on Winnings: The law requires that operators should make payment in terms of taxes on the income derived from operations in gambling.
- Advertising Restrictions: They are the limit that started in February 2023, the limit that restricts gambling and its promo to some extent so that the vulnerable people will not be left alone with their addictions.
Belgium Sports Betting
Belgian gambling sector is also quite developed, and one of the forms of gambling is sports betting. The sector has experienced significant evolution in the recent past mainly due to the legislature that made it legal to conduct betting online in the year 2011. To offer services legally sports betting operators need to have F1 or the F1+ license.
Sporting Event Glory Milestones
- 1920 Olympic Games: that was host by Belgium.
- 1972 UEFA European Championship: Part of the event is it co-hosted by Belgium.
- 1980 UEFA European Championship: National team gets the second position.
- 1986 FIFA World Cup: National team ensures to finish at the fourth position.
- 2000 UEFA European Championship: Namely, the conference was co-hosted with the country of the Netherlands.
Conclusion
Belgium offered rich gambling history, strengthened by the recent legislation, a wide variety of gambling products and the active development of sports betting activities. Due to these legal transformations and high requirements for the gambling activities, the country wants to provide fair condition for every gambler.
To different players, who is likely planning to set foot on Small Caps or provide an online operation in Belgium and comprehend Belgium’s bookmaker laws and regulatory bodies, license kinds, and key epochs is vital. The maturing of this market will, however, require compliance to the regulations that suppose stakeholder awareness and benefit.
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