Belgium’s gaming commission will be running an awareness campaign on sports betting throughout this year’s European football championship, Euro 2020.
According to the Gaming Commission, every day in Belgium more than 120,000 people take part in online gambling.
With Euro 2020 approaching, the Commission expects the number of gamblers to increase along with the number of sports betting abuses, which has prompted them to launch their campaign titled “Stop gambling in time!”
Throughout the competition, RTBF and VRT will broadcast an advertisement urging fans to be careful and referring them to a website specially created for the occasion.
“On the occasion of [EURO 2020], the Gaming Commision wishes to emphasize the fact that gambling must always remain a form of entertainment and that it is necessary, to avoid problems, to know when to stop in time to play,” the website says.
Anyone looking to bet on the matches will be able to consult “all the useful information on responsible gambling and the help available,” explained the Gaming Commission in a press release on Friday.
“Too often, the gambler does not know that help exists,” said Magali Claive, President of the Gambling Commission.
“He does not know where he can find it and when he does, the damage is already very significant. It is therefore essential that the gambler is able to detect whether or not his behaviour is problematic and, if necessary, that he finds the path to effective support without delay.”
The campaign was set up with the help of the Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO), which brings together five gambling operators in Belgium.
This partnership enabled the Commission to obtain the necessary advertising space and audiovisual material.
“The legal operators are convinced that the sustainable development of their activities depends on channelling the player towards a safe and controlled gambling offer,” said Emmanuel Mewissen, president of BAGO.
The European Championship will be held between June 11 and July 11, 2021, after it was delayed from its original start date of summer 2020.
The Brussels Times
