Belgian Sports Bodies Strike Back Against Gambling Ads Ban

Despite this, the ban is already set in motion and it will be arriving in 2024, effectively restricting gambling advertisements as reported earlier. This will happen no matter what, says Belgian justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne who said on Friday that the ban could not be reversed.

Belgium’s Gambling Advertisement Ban Challenged

The sports sector, though, has been outraged, with various representatives of hockey, basketball, and soccer saying that the measure would prove too debilitating to the local sports ecosystem. The ban intends to ban gambling advertisements from across a number of media, including radio and TV, magazines and cinemas, newspapers, and public spaces.

Sports bosses are confident that the measure is ham-fisted as it would undermine the sports industry while going against the grain of what it sets out to achieve. Consumers would not be better protected from gambling harm, various sports bodies have argued.

Now, the affected parties are going to pursue the matter in court, hoping to reverse the ban and replace it with a “strong legal framework,” which allows for “clear agreements” on promotions. Another matter that chafed sports bodies the wrong way was that the government had not consulted the country’s sports bosses sufficiently before announcing the ban.

Sports bodies are prepared to spread responsible gambling messaging, but to do that, they need to be included in cornerstone discussions such as the future of gambling advertisements in the country. However, the Justice Ministry would not budge at this stage, having sent the ban for approval to the State Council and the European Commission, which have both approved it.

The Measure Will Stand Any Legal Procedures

The ministry has also said that the ban would not lead to a worsening of the financial standing of sports in the country. While sports bodies claim that professional sports would be worse impacted by non-professional organizations, the ministry has argued that professional outfits have a big resource and visibility to use and leverage as further economic value.

The ban would be able to withstand any legal objection, Van Quickenborne stated tersely. He also noted that other countries in Europe, including Spain and Italy, and even the Netherlands, have rolled out a successful partial or full ban on gambling advertisements across certain public media.