18 Online Gambling Sites Blocked By Belgian Regulators
Regulators in Belgium are taking aggressive action against unregulated online sportsbooks due to the lack of security throughout the transaction process. Licensing has become a major issue in Europe, with authorities providing fewer official approvals every year. The market is at risk of saturation, and according to researchers, unapproved online sportsbooks contribute to a rise in consumer dissatisfaction and security issues. Fraudulent activity is also common on these platforms, and consumers should be aware of the risk they take whenever they engage with unsecure platform.
The Belgium Gambling Authority is making a stand against the widening problem of unlicensed sportsbooks. Due to Europe’s relaxed online gambling laws, unregulated betting sites are free to operate throughout the continent. Now the Belgian government has stepped in to remove unofficial sites due to security concerns. ©Ernestovdp/Pixabay
Belgium is the latest in a long list of European countries to officially initiate a domain blackout against unregulated betting sites. The Polish gambling authority fined unlicensed sportsbooks for breaches of conduct and mismanagement of customer data. Belgian regulators are concerned about the rise in online gambling, and to satisfy the demand, new back-alley betting sites are cropping up all over Europe. This has become a major problem for many countries and Asia, in particular, has one of the worst rates of unlicensed domains in the world.
The Belgium gambling authority has officially taken down 18 domains hosting a betting site to counter this growing problem. This last is certain to expand as the operation is ongoing. To achieve this, the government deployed cybersecurity officers to review the betting and casino industry. Once an unethical platform was identified, it was up to the computer engineers to orchestrate a major takedown. Most of the well-known unofficial sportsbooks are now terminated in one fell swoop, but in response, many new sites are expected to pop up by the end of the year. It’s an ongoing battle for the Belgian regulators.
This isn’t the first time Belgium has acted against unlicensed betting sites; in June, they took down a list of 11 domains and fined several companies connected to the aforementioned gambling sites. As expected, their decisive actions meant a great deal to the safety of the gambling industry in Belgium and Europe. While they have fairly relaxed gambling laws, Brussels ministers are keen to strengthen the core mechanics of the current gambling act; in particular, they want to restrict advertising as it is connected to an increase in problem betting.
While the companies involved are the most likely to suffer because of their actions, players on these websites can also receive penalties for engaging with an unlicensed sportsbook. People may view this as unfair as they might be unaware that the site in question is unregulated. However, an official seal of approval connecting to the Belgium gambling authority is present on all licensed sportsbooks. It cannot be faked due to the clever use of back-end programming technology, so any unethical betting site cannot disguise itself as legitimate.
What Will Happen Next?
After banning several domains for illegitimate activity, Belgian regulators are now looking to reinforce the detection framework they use to identify these platforms. This can be done by hiring more developers to improve their safety net system and requesting additional assistance and support from government officials to bring light to the issue at hand. Unregulated betting falls under the radar when it comes to gambling industry problems, and many activists and analysts would like to see this change.
The gambling authority will now look to stamp some control across the industry and hopefully inspire other nations across Europe to respond with similar action. It’s unclear how long this licensing issue could continue but due to the pandemic, officially licensing a new sportsbook is becoming more difficult due to market share and competition issues. Maybe eventually, the flood gates will open, and all online sportsbooks that meet high standards can be approved, but the removal of domains will become commonplace until then.
