Developed by the Belgian Gaming Commission, the new guidelines for gambling advertising with Belgium’s top football league Jupiler Pro League are aimed at encouraging responsible gambling.
Belgium is not the first nation to have its professional football league regulated, as Spain also recently banned every gambling sponsorship. But as reported by Affpapa, the Belgium’s brand new advertising guidelines are not as suffocating as Spain’s are. Instead, the regulatory body has banned partnerships between league clubs and gambling companies that are not licensed in the country.
Moreover, all partnerships should absolutely be reported to the regulatory body. If an operator defies any of the guidelines for responsible gambling (or loses their license), then the Belgian Gaming Commission will notify the relevant football club and expect them to take appropriate action.
The new guidelines also indicate that gambling ads must not include an attraction to bet. The regulatory body is going to ban placing bets on some stages of a football match as well.
The Belgian Gaming Commission and Jupiler Pro League announced:
"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."