Belgian regulator adds four more to internet gambling black list
News on 8 Feb 2013
News on 8 Feb 2013
Belgium‘s black list of operators that the Belgian Gaming Commission regards as unlicensed and therefore illegal just keeps growing, with another four sites added this week, bringing total numbers on the list to 64.
Betwingo.com, Scratchmania.com, Wataro.com and Jeuxcash.rtl are the latest additions, and will be subjected to ISP blocks.
Betwingo is a well-established sports betting operator with a domain registered to Michael Doeppes in Klagenfurt, Austria and is understood to be related to the Mybestodds website.
ScratchMania.com was founded in 2008 and provides scratch cards and slot games action; the site is a wholly owned subsidiary of Donateu International Ltd, based in Larnaca Cyprus.
Wataro.com and Jeuxcash.rtl.be are multi-player soft gaming sites that draw their primary traffic from France.
Under Belgian laws controversially implemented two years ago only already licensed land gambling operators in Belgium can hold online gambling licenses and legitimately access the Belgian internet gambling market.
The law has been criticised as being non-compliant with EU law, but the Belgians continue to push ahead anyway, adding unlicensed operators to the BGC black list.
The situation has resulted in several major online gambling companies forming partnerships with Belgian land casinos in order to legitimately access the market and avoid heavily punitive fines.
