Session Title

Session 4-2-E: Interactive Gaming Policies

Presentation Type

Event

Location

The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Start Date

10-6-2016 10:30 AM

End Date

10-6-2016 12:00 PM

Disciplines

Economics | Gaming and Casino Operations Management | Gaming Law | International Business | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Abstract

Bets are a special type of game of chance. In a certain sense, you could think of all games of chance as a bet (bet that the roulette ball comes to rest in number 7, betting on the correct result in the lottery etc.), but most countries have implemented a categorisation. A categorisation that is not only under pressure online, but just as much in the real world with the introduction of virtual bets.

In Belgium, virtual bets were accepted because bets are highly dependent on events, and players also like to make a bet when no events are taking place. First virtual online betting appeared on the market via the websites of the arcades and the bets, but following a new framework memorandum from the Gaming Commission, it also became a success in the real world. Success that went hand in hand with growing criticism in the interests of the coherence rules in the area of protecting the player.

Although the criticism also partly arose among the betting operators who ran gambling machines in arcades, the discussion about a further restriction on virtual bets showed many similarities with the discussion about the FOBT (fixed odds betting terminals) in the United Kingdom. Betting premises have ease of access and in Belgium a high threshold was introduced for games of chance that were considered more dangerous (e.g. slots, black jack, roulette etc.). Since there is no betting event, the odds are more RNG driven and the playing frequency can be very high, some people are offended that somebody aged 20 may not enter arcade, but he may, without any embarrassment, wager large sums on virtual betting events. In response to the rule applied by the Gaming Commission not to allow people under the age of 21 to make virtual bets on a betting website.

In Belgium, bets can be placed in a newspaper shop (sport bets up to 200 euro per day per person), in a mobile betting office (bets linked to the event for which the mobile licence has been obtained) and in a betting shop (no limit to the number of bets or wagers, but for wagers above 1000 euro, a complete identification and registration of the player and the bet must be made). Bets on virtual (sport) events can only be accepted in betting shops and not in newspaper shops or via mobile betting offices.

In summary, virtual betting is permitted in Belgium, but there are constricting provisions in force. The online virtual bets are placed on the same level of protection as slot machines, unlike the virtual bets in the real world, which are accessible from the age of 18, but can only be operated in a limited manner. Further restrictions, including even a prohibition for betting offices to operate virtual bets, also remain a possibility, if the virtual bets evolve further into a game of chance with high playing frequently whereby the event is in practice no longer of no significance and no sufficient protection of the player can be guaranteed.

Keywords

fantasy sports, virtual betting, barriers, betting, gambling

Comments

Attachment: PDF containing 17 slides

Title slide: How Much Virtuality Can a Bet Take?

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Jun 10th, 10:30 AM Jun 10th, 12:00 PM

Regulatory Barriers in the Field of Gambling: How Much Virtuality Can a Bet Take?

The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Bets are a special type of game of chance. In a certain sense, you could think of all games of chance as a bet (bet that the roulette ball comes to rest in number 7, betting on the correct result in the lottery etc.), but most countries have implemented a categorisation. A categorisation that is not only under pressure online, but just as much in the real world with the introduction of virtual bets.

In Belgium, virtual bets were accepted because bets are highly dependent on events, and players also like to make a bet when no events are taking place. First virtual online betting appeared on the market via the websites of the arcades and the bets, but following a new framework memorandum from the Gaming Commission, it also became a success in the real world. Success that went hand in hand with growing criticism in the interests of the coherence rules in the area of protecting the player.

Although the criticism also partly arose among the betting operators who ran gambling machines in arcades, the discussion about a further restriction on virtual bets showed many similarities with the discussion about the FOBT (fixed odds betting terminals) in the United Kingdom. Betting premises have ease of access and in Belgium a high threshold was introduced for games of chance that were considered more dangerous (e.g. slots, black jack, roulette etc.). Since there is no betting event, the odds are more RNG driven and the playing frequency can be very high, some people are offended that somebody aged 20 may not enter arcade, but he may, without any embarrassment, wager large sums on virtual betting events. In response to the rule applied by the Gaming Commission not to allow people under the age of 21 to make virtual bets on a betting website.

In Belgium, bets can be placed in a newspaper shop (sport bets up to 200 euro per day per person), in a mobile betting office (bets linked to the event for which the mobile licence has been obtained) and in a betting shop (no limit to the number of bets or wagers, but for wagers above 1000 euro, a complete identification and registration of the player and the bet must be made). Bets on virtual (sport) events can only be accepted in betting shops and not in newspaper shops or via mobile betting offices.

In summary, virtual betting is permitted in Belgium, but there are constricting provisions in force. The online virtual bets are placed on the same level of protection as slot machines, unlike the virtual bets in the real world, which are accessible from the age of 18, but can only be operated in a limited manner. Further restrictions, including even a prohibition for betting offices to operate virtual bets, also remain a possibility, if the virtual bets evolve further into a game of chance with high playing frequently whereby the event is in practice no longer of no significance and no sufficient protection of the player can be guaranteed.