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How Belgian Football Clubs Are Navigating New Gambling Sponsorship Rules

Belgian football is undergoing a significant transformation in response to stringent new regulations on gambling advertising. As of January 1, 2025, gambling companies are prohibited from sponsoring the front of team shirts and from displaying ads on pitchside boards. Clubs, however, have found creative ways to adapt, leaving the Belgian Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie) feeling powerless.

Tightening the Rules

The Belgian government’s mission to curb gambling addiction has been ongoing for several years. Step by step, regulations have tightened, culminating in a ban on gambling advertisements in prominent locations during football matches. Previously, only players under 21 years old were prohibited from wearing shirts with gambling sponsors; this restriction now applies to all players. The only remaining allowance is a small logo (up to 75 cm²) on shirt sleeves or the back, valid for the next three years.

This legislative shift is a financial blow to Belgian clubs. Gambling sponsors have been lucrative, generating between €500,000 and €3 million annually for some teams. Maintaining these sponsorship contracts under the new rules has become increasingly challenging.

Visible Changes on the Pitch

The impact of these regulations is evident in matches such as the Croky Cup quarterfinals. For example, OH Leuven announced a new main sponsor, website builder one.com, which replaced Star Casino on the front of their shirts. Star Casino has been relegated to a sleeve sponsor. “All clubs sought loopholes; we did too. But fortunately, we found a new main sponsor,” said OH Leuven CEO Frederic Van den Steen.

Club Brugge took a different route, opting for a workaround that raised eyebrows. They replaced their primary sponsor, Unibet, with U-Experts, a sub-brand of Unibet. This subtle change capitalizes on a technicality: U-Experts is marketed as a separate channel with its own app, ensuring it doesn’t violate the new rules. Charleroi has reportedly followed a similar strategy, using U-Experts branding without the signature Unibet logo dots.

Regulatory Challenges

The Belgian Gaming Commission acknowledges the innovative strategies employed by clubs and gambling operators to circumvent the rules. “We’ve noticed that gambling companies and sports clubs are exploiting gaps in the regulations. They’re partnering with entities that don’t directly operate gambling services but still use branding tied to gambling companies,” the commission stated.

Despite these concerns, the commission’s enforcement capacity is limited. Penalties for non-compliance include fines, but structural understaffing hampers enforcement. Marjolein De Paepe, spokesperson for the commission, emphasized the issue: “Our control unit was reinforced in 2022, but we remain critically understaffed. Without adequate resources, achieving ambitious or even reasonable objectives is unrealistic.”

A Waiting Game

With enforcement challenges looming, clubs are testing boundaries. Of the ten top-tier teams forced to drop their gambling sponsors, three—Beerschot, Dender, and Standard Liège—have yet to reveal their new strategies. Speculation suggests they may follow the sub-branding trend.

Other clubs have already adapted:

Anderlecht: Transitioned from Napoleon Games to travel company Sunweb.

Antwerp: Shifted from betFIRST to AntwerpFirst, a name linked to their community initiatives.

Cercle Brugge: Rebranded Golden Palace as Golden Palace News.

OH Leuven: Replaced Star Casino with one.com.

Some clubs, like KV Kortrijk, are still exploring options, while others have embraced sub-brands to maintain links with gambling companies without breaching regulations.

The Road Ahead

Belgium’s tightened gambling advertising rules signify a major step in addressing addiction concerns. However, as clubs find ways to adapt, the debate continues about whether these measures are enough to achieve their intended impact. For now, the ball is in the court of regulators and policymakers to address loopholes and bolster enforcement.

Sources: Het Nieuwsblad, De Standaard