Belgium To Liberalise Online Casino Legislation

07.22.2008 | 9:20 am | News, casinos

According to a recent report by Markets and Research, Belgium is the latest of a number of European Union member states to express an interest in liberalising its gambling industry – particularly in the online market. The government have shown interest in adopting new legislation to provide for private online casinos and gaming site operators, signalling a less protective stance on state-owned casino and lottery gambling monopolies – and specifically, the government have stated they wish to regulate the online casino sector.

The new government position conveys a more positive feel towards the Belgian online gambling industry as a whole, indicating a more liberalised future for the gambling market.

This attitude mirrors the government’s tolerant position on other aspects of the gambling industry, as shown through the establishment of state-run casinos, and the recent proposal to permit the Belgian National Lottery to go online, which some analysts have forecasted for early next year. Along with this proposal to modernise one of the most tolerated forms of gambling, it is only reasonable that updated legislation to protect and expand the rapidly-growing field of online casinos should be proposed.

The progressive attitude of this small European country is predicted to spread across the European Union, despite heavy opposition from countries such as France, and has already been mirrored in larger countries such as the UK with the government’s proposal in 2007 to build the first “super casino” in Manchester.

The acceptance of a wider online casino market in the country which houses the EU should herald a broader, more liberal future for the gambling industry more widely across Europe. Countries such as the conservative Italy and Spain are being increasingly encouraged to accept the growth of the profitable casino industry thanks to growing pressure from the rest of the European Union.