For 20 years, Belgian politics has had the ambition to protect players. In this context, a channelling policy has been chosen, with a limited but strictly regulated supply of legal games of chance. The Gaming Commission (GC), as regulator, is in charge of controlling them.
This model, which is considered to be leading beyond our borders, is today confronted with new challenges, an inevitable consequence of the digitalisation of society and the increased visibility and accessibility of gambling that accompanies it.
In addition to these new challenges, illegal gambling sites are also a major problem. These sites try to entice players with a rich offer of games of chance and, in doing so, disregard any rules or measures in place to protect players. On the contrary, problem players are particularly vulnerable to this illegal sector.
This situation is well-known and unanimously condemned, but unequivocal solutions to the problem are not obvious and are often ineffective.
Magali Clavie, the President of the GC, believes that these illegal websites are a real plague on several levels and can only be tackled by combining the right expertise and the commitment of all parties involved.