The Belgian government has recently announced the prohibition of gambling advertisements in the country starting from the 1st of July 2023.
The prohibition will cover most types of gambling promotions, except for in-stadium ads and professional sports team sponsorships, which the country aims to ban in 2025 and 2028 respectively.
This announcement covers all verticals ranging from newspapers and radio to television and the internet. It will also affect all gambling operators in the country, however, the national lottery will get a number of exemptions from the new rule.
Having originally been announced back in May of 2022, the move has received immense amounts of criticism from local gambling experts and firms for the past 10 months. Many professionals are calling for stricter regulations and rules instead of a blanket prohibition.
This announcement follows other similar movements in various key gambling markets around the world. As an example, back in late February, a new federal bill was introduced in the United States that aims to achieve a similar outcome. The Irish Labour party, on the other hand, has been calling for a gambling advertising ban since 2021.
