The Gaming Commission has updated its list of illegal gambling sites in Belgium. On 17 September 2026, 34 new websites were subject to a decision and now appear amongst the platforms targeted by the Belgian authority.
The European market for illegal gambling is growing significantly. According to a study commissioned by EUROMAT and carried out by Regulus Partners and Helios, unauthorised activities are reported to have grown by an average of 18 per cent per year since 2019. Belgium is one of the countries particularly affected.
Since 14 September 2026, Belgian press shops offering sports or horse racing bets must comply with a new regulatory framework. The Royal Decree of 30 August 2026, published in the Moniteur belge on 14 September and which came into force on the same day, sets out the conditions for obtaining and renewing the F2 licence, whilst tightening the criteria for distinguishing a genuine press shop from an establishment primarily dedicated to betting.
Twelve Belgian heritage projects will be vying for the public’s support as part of the Heritage Tombola. From 15 September, anyone can vote for their favourite project free of charge. The prize for the winner: a restoration budget of up to €150,000.
Kanskeur.sbs presents itself as an independent information and comparison site dedicated to online casinos. Between warnings about EPIS, promotions for foreign casinos and invitations to play, its content raises a question: what do we really know about the status and practices of the establishments it promotes?
With seven months to go until the French presidential election in April 2027, a market dedicated to the next occupant of the Élysée Palace is already attracting considerable trading volumes. On Polymarket, more than $128 million has been traded on the outcome of the election. Yet the platform has been officially blocked in France since July 2026.
Following the suspension of the licence awarded to ECK, the parent company of Napoleon Games, Philippe Close has rejected allegations of a conflict of interest whilst considering stepping aside from future decisions concerning this contract.
For the time being, companies in the gambling sector cannot run adverts on ChatGPT. OpenAI’s advertising rules classify conversations relating to gambling as contexts in which no adverts should appear.
The Dutch National Lottery has taken legal action against the operators and directors of Skyhills, an illegal gambling website in the Netherlands. Since this initial action, the platform is no longer accessible to Dutch players.
Websites with no connection to gambling are being used to lure Dutch players to illegal online casinos. According to a BNR investigation reported on 3 September 2026 by CasinoNieuws.nl, at least 1,000 domains and websites are believed to be affected. The actual number, however, could exceed 8,000.
The success of offshore gambling platforms raises a fundamental question: do the rules imposed on regulated operators still effectively protect players when their competitors are not subject to these same constraints? Massimo Menegalli, of Golden Palace Casino & Sports, cites Stake as a symbol of this imbalance and calls for a review of the current approach.
Circus Poker France is continuing to expand its poker offering by announcing a partnership with Croc Poker. The free app, which claims to have over 8,000 players and a presence in 80 bars, is set to offer free weekly tournaments at Circus casinos across France.
The Council of State has suspended the award of the Brussels Casino concession to ECK, the company that operates the Napoleon Games brand.
The German group Merkur is preparing to enter the French casino market by acquiring Casigrangi, the parent company of the Société Française de Casinos. The deal is set to enable it to take control of seven establishments located across several French regions.
Philippe Close has responded to criticism surrounding the Brussels casino licence and his position on the board of directors of Sporting Anderlecht.
A police operation triggered by a report of a potentially armed individual led to an unexpected discovery in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Officers found around a hundred people gathered for an illegal poker tournament.
Pierre Neuville has died at the age of 83 following a long battle with prostate cancer. The Belgian had carved out an extraordinary career in international poker, eventually reaching the final table of the main event at the World Poker Championships in 2015, aged 72.
