Five Belgian Gambling Companies Agree to Stop Advertising

Five Belgian gambling companies have decided to stop advertising on radio, TV and print media from January 1. The companies are Golden Palace Casino, Ardent Group, Napoleon Games, Unibet and Betfirst. They approached the Minister of Justice with the initiative to stop advertising.

“We are aware of the excessive presence of gambling advertising in recent years. With this initiative we want to bring serenity back,” Emmanuel Mewissen, the CEO of Ardent said.

“An online advertising stop is impossible, because otherwise we will be blown away by the illegal sector. The whole purpose of the new Gaming Act in 2010 was to curb the illegal sector by giving legal companies enough freedom,” Mewissen added.

The five companies urge equal treatment in the market. They argue that the National Lottery is also a game of chance and there is little difference between their products and the Lottery’s.

“But they’re exempt from all restrictions on advertising that apply to us, also because the Lottery [is] involved in the cockpit of the gambling commission via the government. That makes the Loterij the party and the judge. We want to work out our agreement with the government into a rule for the entire sector,” the companies said.