Controversial stance of Mouvement Reformateur shakes up Belgium’s gaming sector

Lea Hogg April 1, 2024

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Controversial stance of Mouvement Reformateur shakes up Belgium’s gaming sector

The rising tide of gambling in Belgium has brought to the front a growing social issue – gambling addiction. The problem has escalated since the legalization of gambling advertising in 2021. Despite the clear societal impact, the liberal Francophone party, Mouvement Reformateur (MR), has been resisting protective legislation for addicts.

In 2022, Belgium’s gambling industry boasted a revenue of €1.45 billion, with record-breaking wagers of €18.2 billion online and €6.9 billion from slot machines. This surge can be traced back to the legalization of online gambling in 2010 and the regularization of gambling advertising in 2021. These changes drew more people to gamble.

Political resistance and controversy

Daily online players in the Belgian jurisdiction increased from 63,000 in 2010 to 141,000 in 2022, and 5 percent of Belgians gambled online at least once a week. The introduction of advertising saw the number of gamblers jump from 800,000 to 2.1 million. In response to these alarming figures, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, (pictured above), banned gambling advertising via a royal decree in March 2022. This move was met with disapproval from the gambling lobby and media outlets that profited from advertising revenue. Most political parties supported the ban due to the industry’s harmful social effects, including a suicide rate among addicts five times higher than the general population.

However, MR has been opposing the new rules, according to lawmakers involved in the legislative process. MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez made it a headline issue, insisting that any potential harm to the gambling sector be discussed at the Council of Ministers. He eventually agreed to a gradual phase-out of certain advertising measures, such as logos on sports jerseys, and exempted amateur clubs from the advertising ban. These concessions have irked the bill’s proponents.

Bouchez’s connections with leading lobbyists have raised eyebrows. As a rally driver, he is sponsored by Ladbrokes, and former MR MP Damien Thiéry now lobbies for the Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO), a group known for its aggressive lobbying tactics. Vooruit leader Melissa Depraetere has labelled Bouchez’s behaviour as “embarrassing” and expressed concern about the future of legislation, as both MR and N-VA oppose stringent gambling regulation. She hopes the next government can do more to protect players, but fears MR and N-VA could reverse the advertising ban.