Belgium Approves Three Poker Site Licenses

Belgium took a major step towards offering licensed online poker this week, approving three different real money online poker sites for players to choose from in the country. The three companies receiving the licenses were PokerStars, Partouche and Casino777, each of which will be able to open rooms and websites featuring the .be domain name.

Belgium has been looking to emulate neighboring France’s policies towards online gambling by instituting regulations that would allow for the government to issue licenses to online gambling operators. These licenses would allow operators to design sites catered specifically and exclusively for the Belgium market. Like similar sites in France and Italy, these poker rooms do not share players with international versions or versions from other countries.

This has been considered a potential problem for Belgium poker players. With a population of just over 11 million, many analysts have expressed doubts over whether there are enough poker players to make for viable online poker sites in the country. Indeed, Belgium may prove to be an interesting test case for the possible state-level regulations in the United States, as most states have populations below that mark.

Belgium has thrown another wrinkle into their legislation with the creation of a blacklist. This list of unapproved online gambling sites will be blocked in the country, with the four largest ISPs in Belgium preventing players from accessing them. It remains to be seen how many players will attempt to get around this restriction, or if most players will take the simpler option of staying with the approved .be sites.

PokerStars was able to enter the Belgium market thanks to a partnership with online gambling operator Circus Groupe.

“Attracting the world’s largest poker site was made possible by the remarkable work of the Belgian Gaming Commission and the Wallonia Ministry of Finance,” said Circus Groupe CEO Emmanuel Mewissen.