January 7 - The European Commission will not see the latest changes proposed
by the Belgium government to its online gambling laws in a positive
light.
Local Belgian media outlets noted this week that the government was
introducing sweeping changes to its legislation that would see
online poker
players blocked from foreign poker sites.
Internet Service Providers would be asked to block sites such as Party Poker,
Full Tilt and Poker Stars.
As an alternative, Belgium online poker providers would be able to compete in
a nationalized industry, as long as they operated within the country's borders
and carried a license provided by the authorities.
The government cited a wide range of reasons for nationalizing its online
casino industry, including so called terrorist operations, although no proof of
these types of problems were given in the newspaper reports.
The European Commission is trying to get member states to adhere to free
trade agreements that were signed to ensure healthy competition across borders.
Unfortunately, the latest announcement by the Belgian government is in direct
violation of these trade agreements.
The European Union already indicated its disapproval when it got wind of the
government's plans as early as June last year, but it seems that Belgium is
intent of ignoring the agreements anyway.
It remains to be seen whether pressure for Belgian online poker players will
have an impact on the latest decisions governing online gambling in the country.
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