Belgium is aiming to virtually ban gambling advertising by the end of 2022, as gambling companies or platforms will no longer be allowed to advertise on television, radio, social media, posters on the street, in newspapers, or via personalised (e)mail and text messages.

By the end of the year, nearly all forms of gambling advertising will be banned, as Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne included the bill in a draft Royal Decree this weekend.

“Gambling is the new smoking,” said Van Quickenborne in a press release. “The gambling industry is making more and more profit in our country, all ‘thanks to’ people with a gambling addiction.”