Illegal casino affiliates dominate Google Belgium: time for action?
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1 Jul 2026 •
Reading time: 4 minutes
Anyone in Belgium searching for “The best promotions from Belgian online casinos in 2026” would logically expect to be directed to licensed Belgian online casinos or reliable comparison websites that review only legal operators.
The reality, however, appears to be quite different.
An analysis of Google’s organic search results shows that the first page is largely dominated by affiliate websites that do not exclusively link to licensed Belgian casinos, but also promote illegal operators. Strikingly, these websites appear to have gained even greater visibility following the most recent Google update.
This raises an important question: is the current search algorithm inadvertently fuelling the illegal gambling market?
Belgian players are looking for safety, but are finding the black market
More and more players are starting their search for an online casino via Google. Search terms such as:
- Best Belgian online casinos
- Casino bonuses Belgium
- Online casino promotions Belgium
- Which casino is reliable?
often form the starting point of their search.
When these very search queries mainly bring up websites that also promote illegal operators, an undesirable situation arises.
After all, consumers assume that the top results on Google are reliable. In practice, this turns out not to be the case by any means.
Licensed casinos are disappearing from view
Even more striking is that various parties which focus specifically on the regulated Belgian market are now barely visible.
Websites that provide information exclusively about licensed casinos also appear to be losing ground to international affiliates who use their content much more broadly and often refer to operators without a Belgian licence.
This is a worrying development.
Licensed casinos invest millions of euros annually in licences, taxes, responsible gambling, KYC procedures, player protection and advertising regulations. When they are subsequently squeezed out online by websites that also promote the illegal market, an uneven playing field is created.
Google appears to be rewarding the wrong parties
Several major Google updates have been rolled out in recent months.
Whilst these updates are intended to make high-quality content easier to find, the opposite effect appears to be evident within the gambling sector.
International affiliate websites with vast content networks seem to be benefiting, whilst specialist websites focusing exclusively on the regulated Belgian market are losing ground.
This is not just a commercial problem for legal providers.
Above all, it is a problem for Belgian consumers.
A growing European problem
Belgium is not alone in this.
In the Netherlands, too, there has long been criticism of the way Google handles the visibility of illegal casinos.
In addition, an international investigation by Investigate Europe and The Guardian was recently published, revealing that various AI chatbots also regularly refer users to unlicensed online casinos.
When both search engines and AI systems increasingly direct users to unlicensed operators, this presents a new challenge for regulators.
The battle against the illegal gambling market has long since ceased to be confined to the operators’ own websites; it is increasingly taking place on search engines and AI platforms.
Time for action
This is precisely why this issue deserves serious attention from both the Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) and the Gaming Commission.
Both organisations are actively committed to a safe, regulated gambling market in which consumers are protected from illegal operators.
However, when Google primarily displays websites that promote the black market in response to popular search queries, that objective is undermined.
It would therefore be prudent to actively investigate this development.
Possible next steps could include:
- investigation into the visibility of illegal gambling affiliates on Google Belgium;
- consultations with Google on how unlicensed operators and their promotional websites are displayed;
- cooperation with European regulators, as many of these websites operate internationally;
- informing consumers about the risks posed by websites promoting illegal casinos.
Consumer protection starts with discoverability
Belgian gambling legislation is specifically designed to guide players towards licensed operators.
However, this policy loses much of its effectiveness when consumers first land on websites via Google that redirect them to operators without a Belgian licence.
After all, players assume that the top search results are reliable. If the illegal market is visible precisely there, consumers are not adequately protected.
The fight against the black market is also a battle for visibility
In recent years, significant investment has been made in enforcement against illegal casinos, blocking websites and providing information to consumers.
But the online landscape is changing rapidly.
The question is no longer just which unlicensed casinos are operating, but above all how consumers manage to find these websites.
If search engines are the gateway to the black market, then more attention will need to be paid to this issue as well.
After all, effective consumer protection does not begin only when a player registers with an online casino, but right from the moment they enter their first search query into Google.
In our view, this presents an important task for both the Gaming Commission and BAGO. By jointly drawing attention to this development and engaging in dialogue with technology companies and policymakers, we can prevent the regulated market from fading further into the background, whilst the illegal sector benefits from ever-increasing online visibility.