Approved Belgian Online Gambling Sites Announced

Belgium is one of the latest EU nations to legalise and regulate its online gambling industry in line with EC directives, which is great news for online gambling fans in the country, and the three lucky operators awarded coveted Belgium online gaming licenses.

According to the Belgium Gaming Commission, which oversees all land and online gaming matters in the country most famous for its high quality chocolate, it has approved just three online gaming sites that gamblers in the nation can legally join and play on.

The approved Belgian online gambling sites are PokerStars.be, Partouche.be and Casino777.be, which while a major coup for their owners and operators, must seem like a slap in the face for many other large online gambling concerns equally eager to enter the highly lucrative Belgian internet gaming market, but who did not make it onto Belgium's 'approved list'.

Belgian Online Gambling Licenses Hard to Come By

These include online gaming giants PartyPoker.com and iPoker, who have always allowed Belgian players to sign up and play for real money, and who have indicated that they will continue to do so, despite the fact that in theory without having Belgian online gambling licenses, both are expected to cease immediately.

However, Belgium may end up having the last laugh, because to ensure that online gamblers in Belgium limit their gaming to the three licensed and thus government-sanctioned sites, the Belgium Gaming Commission is proposing plans to block access to all unauthorised (i.e. unlicensed sites) at an ISP level in the nation.

This is perfectly acceptable, considering that a major objective of  any country wishing to legalise and regulate online gambling is to ensure that only approved and reputable sites are granted licenses to operate, ultimately to ensure player safety and fairness to players and the operators alike. These approved sites are part of a 'white list'.

PokerStars.be One of the Sites on Belgium's White List

As PokerStars.be, Partouche.be and Casino777.be are currently the only sites on Belgium's white list, they are the only sites cleared to operate legally within the country, and are also subject to paying taxes as per the terms and conditions of their licenses.

That said, Belgium's Gambling Act has still not resolved the issue of taxation of player winnings, as the country's existing regulations are not clear as to whether 'cash rewards' should be considered taxable income or not.