Betclic withdraw from Belgium, amid PPO investigation

Betclic senior management have chosen to withdraw the company’s operations from the Belgian igaming market as the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) charged the operator with alleged unlicensed igaming operations targeting Belgian igaming players.

Prior to the decision taken by senior management, the operator had suffered a confiscation of €60,000 by the Belgian Gaming Authorities, for servicing unlicensed igaming services to Belgium customers. Betclic were placed under the black list of igaming operators, who had been warned by regional authorities and restricted Belgian IP access to their igaming portals.

The PPO are set to investigate the operator, for illegal igaming operations, BetClic deny any knowledge of wrongdoing on their part. A company statement read “Betclic Everest Group expresses its total surprise concerning the information referring to criminal sanctions and fund blocking that the Group is said to face in Belgium,”

The PPO claim that the operator had been warned of servicing Belgian customers with unlicensed igaming services, furthermore they claim that the operator breached regional igaming laws by allowing payment process on Belgian credit cards. The PPO have further stated that it has proof from Belgian based financial institutions that the operator had processed these online payments.

If prosecuted members of the Betclic board could be held responsible by Belgian igaming authorities and could face prison sentences of six months to five years.