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Report - Part 1 SPORTS BETTING Belgium


BELGIUM SPORTS BETTING NO. OF BETTING SHOPS: 2,679 NON REMOTE OPERATORS: 34 GGR: €360.1M HORSE TRACKS: 3 ONLINE MARKET: GAMBLING ACT 2009 AND OPENED IN JUNE 2011 REMOTE BETTING GGR: €54.6M REMOTE LICENCES: 58 LICENSING: GAMING COMMISSION


ONLINE


Belgium has taken a fairly restrictive approach to online gambling in recent years. At one time it was fairly liberal but changes were made under the new law under the Gambling Act of 2009.


The new Belgian gambling legislation came into force in January 2011 and this included strict laws for online gaming and a closed licensing system.


This meant that online game of chance and wagers required an online licence (A+, B+ or F1+) which were limited to the nine casinos, 180 arcades and 34 betting licences.


B


elgium has a long history in gambling. The National Lottery dates back to the 15th century whilst horse racing and casinos are popular


forms of gambling.


On course horse racing betting turnover in Belgium amounted to €39.7m for parimutuel betting and €952,590 for bookmakers last year. There are three horse racing tracks open in Belgium and around 185 races per year with 560 horses. Sports betting has been around for decades. Betting shops are all around the country and arrived back in the 1980s. Ladbrokes has had a base in Belgium for 20 years and has nearly 440 locations alone. The sector is governed by the Belgian Gaming Commission which has been going for 15 years and there are three types of bets under the remit of the National Gaming Commission – bets on events, bets on sports events or competition and bets on horse races.


For bets on horse racing you can bet either totalisator bets on races in Belgium and races abroad or fixed odds bets on races in Belgium and abroad. Bets are permitted in betting offices of Class IV gaming establishments although you can also bet at newsagents and at the horse tracks.


There are four main establishments for gambling: l Class I – casinos l Class II – slot machine arcades l Class III – bars l Class IV – Betting offices.


The new Belgian gambling legislation came into force in January 2011 and this included


strict laws for online gaming and a closed licensing system.


Wagers can be placed at betting shops, newsagents or horse racing tracks whilst casinos, gaming arcades and betting offices can apply for online licences. At present there are:


l 2,679 (2013) active F2 licences (bookshops) l six horse racing associations. l 572 bookmaker licences


BELGIUM REVENUES Type


Casinos A


Online Permit A+ Gaming Arcades B Online Permit B+


Cafes C Sportsbetting F1


Online Sports Betting F1+ Bookmakers


The law stated the following: l Online games of chance were placed under the supervision of the gambling commission.


l Online licences A+, B+ and F1+ allow licences of the following to operate games of chance online:


A+ - casino operations B+ - gaming arcades F1+ - organising wagers.


l All operates are required to pay a €250,000 guaran- tee fee.


l Operators are required to pay 11 per cent tax on GGR l Horse racing tax is 3 per cent. l Parimutuel bets on foreign horse races is 3.7 percent.


Number of 9 7


177 34


8,222 34 17


2,679 active permits 4 1


Revenue 2012 €141.4m


€15.2m


€189.3m €22.7m


€360.1m €16.7m


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