The Commission’s Issues
The Belgian government could be in hot water with the European Commission this month as a result of Belgium’s decision to pass new online casino gambling regulations that do not fully comply with EU free trade policies. The Commission’s biggest job right now has been the bringing about a dozen EU member-states into compliance and to eliminate that land and internet gambling monopolies with the EU that block licensed and legal foreign online casinos from fairly accessing the market slot machines. As the Belgian government drafted these new regulations, the Commission issued requests and warnings about compliance with open trade laws – they didn’t seem to work. The new Belgian laws show a blatant disregard for EU policies and treaties.
One of the key problems with the new Belgian gambling regulations centers on the limits that the government has placed on gambling licenses for the country. The government will allow some foreign companies to operate in the Belgian market, but they have to jump through too many hoops to do so according to the Commission. Not only are there severe and unjust restrictions on the number of licenses issued, but online casinos and betting companies will have to host their servers within Belgium. The new laws came into effect at the beginning of December and the Belgian government hasn’t even formally addressed the Commission’s concerns.
The Commission has been watching the developments of Belgium’s new online casino gambling regulations for some time now, and has actively suggested areas of concern. Unfortunately, the Belgium government was never very receptive to the suggestions and has now passed new regulations that the Commission will have to follow up on with negotiations and a possible recommendation to the European Court of Justice.