The Belgian government has announced its plans to ban gambling advertising across multiple platforms from 1 July in a bid to tackle addiction and debt.
Betting ads will be banned from television, radio, cinemas, magazines, newspapers and out-of-home (OOH) platforms. Online marketing and social ads will also be prohibited, according to Reuters.
Further bans on betting ads in stadiums will also be implemented on 1 Jan 2025 and betting firms will not be able to sponsor professional sports clubs from 1 Jan 2028.
The plans were implemented following government research that found that advertising encourages gambling addiction and contributes to gambling-related debt. In January, the University of Sheffield claimed that enforcing gambling restrictions could reduce related harms, especially to vulnerable individuals.
“The government is deeply concerned about the impact of the huge amounts of gambling advertising that our society is facing,” Belgium justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said in a statement. “And for those who want to get rid of their gambling addiction, the tsunami of gambling advertising is an additional problem.”
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The news comes almost nine months after the Premier League announced that it had delayed a vote to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling brands. The league previously pledged to eradicate front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling brands over the next three to five years. While the top flight league proposed these plans to ministers, betting firms however would still have the option to sponsor the sleeves of football shirts.
