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The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) have lodged a joint complaint to the European Commission, claiming that the recently adopted Belgian gambling legislation is not compliant with EU law.

The RGA and the EGBA claim that a number of elements of Belgian legislation are designed to protect the domestic Belgian gambling market from “legitimate” competition by putting in place “unacceptable” barriers to new entrants seeking to offer online gambling.

The new law requires applicants for an online licence to first obtain an offline one and actively participate in the offline market, which the two bodies believe is a “clear barrier to entry considering that the majority of the European remote gambling operators do not conduct land-based business”.

The law also requires online operators to duplicate all of their infrastructure by locating their servers, technical equipment, and the relevant personnel in a permanent establishment in Belgium. In doing so, Belgium “completely ignores the obligations and safeguards to which foreign operators are already subject in their member state of establishment”, according to the RGA and the EGBA.

Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the RGA, said: “If consumer protection was the real concern, licences would be granted on the basis of objective criteria assessing the social responsibility of operators. Unfortunately, the current system only aims at protecting a handful of existing land-based operators from meaningful competition.

“Far from benefitting consumers, this will only serve to reduce the value and choice available to them. There is absolutely no doubt that these measures are driven by protectionism rather than genuine concern for consumers. We hope that the Commission will be consistent with its previous stance on the Belgian laws and will fulfil its duty as guardian of EU law by taking early action to remedy this abuse.”