BELGIAN LICENCE FOR STANLEYBET

Written On  4/28/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer  Lenny Wasman :

Terrestrial licence could position UK betting group strongly in any online scenario
 
The Belgian Gambling Commission has awarded British fixed-odds sportsbetting firm Stanleybet International Limited with an F1 terrestrial licence, enabling it to expand its operations in Belgium through increased promotional activity.
 
Under the new Belgian legalization governing internet gambling, only holders of land gambling licenses will be allowed to operate, positioning Stanleybet favourably for possible future developments.
 
Calling the new licence ‘a major step in the consolidation of Stanleybet’s position as the leading offline sportsbetting operator in Belgium’, Stanleybet noted that it has ‘always supported’ the efforts of the Belgian authorities to update the nation’s existing legal terrestrial sportsbetting framework.'
 
“As far as regulating its terrestrial sportsbetting sector is concerned, Belgium indeed is moving towards a fair and level playing field that also maintains a good balance between consumer protection and a business-friendly environment,” said Adrian Morris, deputy managing director for Stanleybet.
 
“We hope that France, the Netherlands and Germany, Belgium’s immediate neighbours, but also countries further away like Greece will indeed take heed of this example in regulating the offline sportsbetting sector and alter their frameworks, which presently contradict the European Union treaty and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
 
“We also hope that the European Commission with its recently opened consultation on the European Union online gambling market in the form of a Green Paper will also note that only by assessing the compatibility with the European Union treaty of the offline sector as well as online can there be consistency and compliance with the Court of Justice of the European Union’s jurisprudence. Any efforts that ignore the offline sector will be counterproductive in the end.”