Belgian Federal finance minister Vincent Van Petegrem has announced that the Belgian lottery will suspend all sports betting advertising during the World Cup in Qatar.
The suspension covers all advertising of sports betting products and services via TV, radio, or in the written press.
Speaking in a press release, the minister said:
“The National Lottery is taking a leading role in protecting players and fighting gambling addiction. At a World Cup, the sport and supporter experience should be central.
Advertising for sports betting should have no place in broadcasts or reports via television, radio and written press. The National Lottery is already setting a good example by not advertising its sports betting on these channels.”
The suspension follows a recent message of caution issued to sports betting operators by the Belgian Gambling Commission. This was a direct result of a study that found that throughout the 2018 World Cup which was held in Russia, half of newly registered gamblers in Belgium were in fact gambling for the very first time.
The minister believes that excessive promotion of sports betting encourages gambling particularly during a tournament such as the World Cup. He stated that this is why the lottery has taken the unprecedented step off suspended all sports betting advertising in a bid to limit the harms of problem gambling.
A new weekly deposit limit of €200 is already in place in Belgium while a proposed Royal Decree is also under consideration that would effectively ban all forms of gambling advertising with the lottery being the only exception to the rule.
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