Unibet lands Belgian online gaming licence

Online gambling group Unibet‘s partnership with Rank Group brick and mortar operations in Belgium bore fruit this week when the company achieved licensing from the Belgian Gaming Commission – one of only six authorised to operate online poker, and offering casino action as well.

The partnership deal with Rank’s Casino van Blankenberge enabled Unibet to meet local regulatory requirements for association with a Belgian-licensed physical gambling enterprise in order to secure a A+ licence.

Other operators offering online poker in Belgium include GoldenPalace.be, Partouche.be, Poker770.be, PokerStars.be and Win2day.

Unlike other European nations, the Belgians have not insisted on dedicated and ring-fenced player pools, creating wider opportunity for player liquidity. The overall Belgian market has been estimated at around Euro 140 million, and compared with other nations the tax burden, at 11 percent on gross profits, is more reasonable.

In related news, the Belgians announced Wednesday that five more domains have been added to its black list of online gambling companies accessing the Belgian market. The new additions bring to over 50 the domains banned by the European nation, with domestic ISPs required to block same.

SpinPalace.com casino, Bwin’s Gamebookers, GamingClub.com, SupremePlay.com, and Agrandtopeudice.com are the new additions.

The Belgians bans have triggered a rash of on-going legal actions from major operators like Bwin, Party Poker, Betfair, Telebet and Betclic Everest.