The Kansspelcommissie, Belgium’s national gambling regulator, has been given the power to apply IP blocking measures on unlicensed gambling operators. The additional capabilities come after a collaboration agreement was reached with DNS Belgium, the organization in charge of overseeing the nation’s domain extensions, such as.be,.vlaanderen, and.brussels.
According to the new structure, websites that provide online gambling without a Belgian license will be flagged by Kansspelcommissie officials as illegal. The domain owner will be immediately notified by DNS Belgium that their website is in violation of registry regulations and is being used to unlawfully target Belgian nationals for gambling.
DNS Belgium has the authority to take over the domain if the owner does not voluntarily comply. In that scenario, anyone trying to access the website would be taken to a warning page that is shown in both Dutch and French and was given by the Kansspelcommissie. This will clarify why the content is forbidden.
The new collaboration would “make it easier to detect illegal gambling sites that use websites with a.be domain,” according to the regulator.
In an effort to stop people from using unlawful gambling websites, gambling authorities frequently employ IP blocking. Additionally, certain regulators have the authority to restrict payments.
However, due to worries about potential violations of constitutional rights to freedom of choice, IP blocking is prohibited in several places. Courts in Germany have determined that blocking orders cannot be issued by the federal gaming regulator Gemeinsame Glücksspielbe fürde der Länder (GGL). The GGL is advocating for the modification of German gaming laws to permit this.
To get a block in some nations, authorities must show that a gambling website is specifically targeting citizens. In Sweden, for an operator to be considered targeting the local market and be eligible for regulatory action, they must employ Swedish language or payment methods. A proposed revision to Swedish gambling laws is expected to change this.
