Regulated internet gambling is now in full force in Belgium and with the turning of the calendar, the Belgium Gaming Commission has released its list of approved sites on which its citizens can place a wager. Included on the list are three online poker rooms, highlighted by PokerStars, as well as four online casinos and two online sports books.
The three online poker rooms on which Belgians are eligible to play are PokerStars.be, Partouche.be, and GPWin.be.* Unlike countries such as Italy and France, Belgium did not ring-fence itself from the rest of the internet gaming world, so its players, despite signing up through a “dot be” site will still play at tables with competitors from other countries. Thus, the online poker experience for players on PokerStars.be will be the same as those who play on PokerStars.com, while Italian customers may only play against other Italians on PokerStars.it and French players may only play with one another on PokerStars.fr. GPWin.be is the Belgian offering of GoldenPalacePoker.com, and as such, is part of the iPoker network.
It appears that Partouche.be may be the unique room of the three, as Partouche Poker is an independent poker room accessible only by residents of France. Since France restricts its citizens to French-only sites, it would lead one to believe that Partouche.be will be a separate site for Belgians.
The Belgian online gaming regulations, passed in 2011, are a bit controversial because of how restrictive they are. Belgians are only allowed to play at the sites on the approved list and face criminal penalties if they are caught playing on unlicensed sites. The four largest internet service providers in the country are set to IP block sites on the Belgium Gaming Commissions “black list.” Additionally, all online gambling operators must be associated with a brick-and-mortar casino. PokerStars.be has teamed up with Circus Groupe, specifically Casino de Namur. Partouche already has four casinos in Belgium, the first of which opened in 1995. Similarly, there are also a number of land-based Belgian casinos in the Golden Palace family, so GPWin.be was set in that regard.
At the same time the laws are restrictive, they are also vague in some regards. There is some question as to whether or not player winnings are considered taxable income, a question that will hopefully be answered with a future update to legacy gaming laws.
All customers of the online poker rooms must be at least 21-years old and in a method somewhat similar to the old Cryptologic rooms, players must verify their identity with the cashier via paper mail once they have either deposited or attempted to withdraw more than €3,000.
Some online poker rooms who were not invited to the party are helping themselves to a drink, anyway. PartyPoker and other rooms on the iPoker network are still allowing Belgians to play on their sites, saying that the online gaming laws may be against European Union law and are “unenforceable,” a stance not unlike that taken by poker rooms once serving players in the United States.
*Other news outlets have reported incorrectly that Casino770.be (or Casino777.be) is the third online poker on approved list, likely because on the published list, it is grouped with the other two other online poker rooms, while GPWin.be is grouped with the online casinos. The groups are not labeled on the document.
