Belgian gaming regulators have put online gambling operators on notice that all live-dealer casinos must be based within the country’s borders. The Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) issued a notice on Jan. 7 stating that it has decided to enforce an existing edict banning all live-dealer casinos that beam their signals in from abroad.
All Belgian-licensed operators currently offering an online live dealer option have been given until Friday (16) to make their identities known to the BGC. A meeting will be held in February at which decisions will be made as to which operators’ live dealer offerings are considered above board. Those that can’t demonstrate their inherent Belgian-ness (Belgianity? Belgianosity?) can choose to either switch to a local live dealer supplier or stop accepting live dealer wagers from Belgian gamblers.
The BGC is one of Europe’s more tightly wound regulatory bodies, routinely adding names to its online gambling blacklist, seizing funds and arresting executives of unapproved operators and even having a go at social gaming, all the while asking for even more powers with which to bring rogues to justice.
The BGC also announced that it intends to more “clearly define the procedure for new games.” The BGC says a new procedure for approving online gambling games was needed to the “exploitation of online slot games by a B-licensee.” (B-licenses cover online gaming arcades.) Any operators who have doubts as to the legitimacy of a new game can submit the game for inspection, which the BGC promises to handle within two weeks of receiving the necessary material.
