Belgian gaming regulators tighten advertising rules for top soccer league

The Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) has set a series of responsible advertisement guidelines with the Jupiler Pro League, the country’s largest soccer league.

The new initiatives include a ban on collaborations between league clubs and gambling operators who are not authorized by the regulator to operate in Belgium, as reported by FortuneZ. All gambling sponsorship arrangements must be disclosed to the BGC.

In the meantime, the Commission shall notify the Pro League if an operator has committed a violation or if the operator loses its license so that the league and the club concerned can take action. The guidelines also note that gambling ads must not provide an invitation to gamble.

The regulator said that it will also prohibit betting “on certain stages of a match,” but has not yet clarified which stage the rule refers to. It will also create an independent integrity committee comprising academic and sporting representatives to monitor club policies and propose integrity recommendations.

The two bodies said in a joint statement: “The absolute starting point of communication and marketing around games of chance and betting is the protection of consumers. It is essential that excessive gambling should be prevented as much as possible. That is why the Gaming Commission and the Pro League want to go further than what is legally imposed today.”