The Ultimate Guide to Belgian Casino Licenses: What Online Roulette Aficionados Can Expect
3 minutes
Last Updated: August 28, 2024
When you’re playing at an online casino or heading down to a land-based establishment, you’re unlikely to be concerned that someone can easily rig games. In fact, the odds ticking over will probably be the closest you’ll get to being concerned by those percentages when you’re gambling.
Belgium is one country where being concerned about this is irrelevant: the industry is so heavily regulated that players are always protected. But that’s not the end of regulatory efforts – and making sense of all the casino licenses can help you avoid issues when picking a new place to play.
This article will explain what sort of licenses there are in Belgium and what, if anything, this means for your enjoyment of online roulette.
Types of Casino Licenses in Belgium
There are many kinds of licences for Belgium’s internet gambling activities and these are regulated individually and serve different purposes. Main types of licenses:
A+ License
The A+ permit is a license for online casino operators, which is, in turn, licensed for all possible gambling products, including roulette. A casino with an A+ license must have a legal landbased hub in Belgium with a “finger on the pulse”, and be licensed by the Belgian regime.
B+ License
A B+ license is for web gaming arcades where video games can operate, including online roulette, but the games are not allowed to perform and operate at the same level as a product licensed for an A+ licensee terminal. And those that receive a B+ license will be subject to the most intensified regulations.
F1 License
As the F1 license is issued to firms providing services for players to make bets on sports events, it does not concern online roulette, but to facilitate players who love gambling to understand the licenses issued by the Belgian government, we need to mention the respective categories of gambling licenses.
F2 License
This license is for a betting intermediary, i.e., cafés or shopkeepers who enable betting on behalf of the holder of a licensed operator. Like the F1 license, this license isn’t specific to online roulette but operates within the wider Belgium gambling regulatory system.
Importance of Licensing for Online Roulette Players
If you’ve ever played one of those online roulette games, then you’ll recognize the importance of licensing. Here’s why it matters if a roulette game (or any of the other forms of online gambling that go by the name roulette) is licensed:
- Fair Play: Casinos need a license in order to operate, and they must regularly undergo audits to prove that the games they offer use RNG and that the outcome is not ‘rigged’.
- Security: Licensed operators will have to meet high standards of security to protect players’ personal information and payment details from fraud and theft.
- Licensed Casinos: The casino operators must encourage responsible gambling and offer free help and counseling to players who might be experiencing problematic gambling.
How to Verify a Casino’s License
Before playing online roulette, it is very important to check that the casino is licensed with a few simple steps:
- Look on the Website: Casinos that have a license will have their license number and the authority that issued the license, usually on the home page in the footer area.
- Go to the website of the Regulatory Authority: The official site of the Belgian Gaming Commission features a roster of all licensed operators. Make sure the site of your chosen casino has an adjusted license number.
- Look for Reviews: The honest and unbiased opinions of players who have tried the casino and expert reviewers who have spent time researching it can give you insight into its legitimacy.
Conclusion
You should only play online roulette from licensed and regulated casinos. That’s the whole point of having casino licenses in the first place. It is a legal requirement, a guarantee to use only recognized websites where the game outcome is not determined by some rigged algorithm or any other nonsense.
There are casinos that have been around for years, and if one has been around for a while, it’s more likely that they will still be there.
It’s also a guarantee that sensitive information, such as your credit card information and banking data, will be kept safe so that you can securely make deposits and withdrawals. You safeguard both yourself and others. No one likes cheats.
