BELGIUM Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sven Demeulemeester, Willem-Alexander Devlies and Daan Buylaert, ATFiELD
Introduction Belgium’s sports law landscape is evolving rapidly, influenced by legislative changes, high- profile legal cases and regulatory developments. From governance and financial sustainability to data protection and esports, sports law in Bel - gium is adapting to meet modern challenges. This article explores the latest trends and legal developments shaping the Belgian sports indus - try. Governance and Integrity in Belgian Sport Ensuring transparency and integrity in sports governance remains a key focus. Recent devel - opments highlight increased scrutiny over finan - cial misconduct, match-fixing and corruption. Match-fixing and betting regulations The Belgian Gaming Commission has tight - ened controls over sports betting, including stricter monitoring of betting patterns to detect irregularities. Sports betting is subject to very strict rules. In this regard, the legal age for all forms of gambling in Belgium, including sports betting, has recently been standardised to 21 years. To further safeguard consumers, Belgium has imposed stringent restrictions on gambling advertising: since 1 January 2025, betting com - panies have been seriously limited in sponsor - ing sports clubs, with a complete ban on such sponsorships for professional sports clubs to be enforced from 2028. The government is also reviewing legislation to impose harsher penalties on those involved in match-fixing. Enhanced financial oversight Since the 2023/2024 season, the Pro League has aligned its financial fair play regulations with UEFA’s updated Financial Sustainability Regula - tions, which replaced the previous Financial Fair Play system. The new regulations, introduced in 2022 through “Football First” plan, aim to ensure
the financial stability of football clubs and are structured around three main pillars, which become stricter every season. • No overdue payments rule – clubs must set - tle all payables to other clubs, employees, social/tax authorities and UEFA by specific deadlines throughout the season. • Football earnings rule – this rule focuses on the balance between relevant income and expenses to promote financial sustainability. Clubs can have a surplus or deficit but must demonstrate that deficits are within accept - able deviations, covered by equity contribu - tions, over a three-year monitoring period. • Squad spend ratio – to ensure cost control, clubs’ spending on players’ and coaches’ wages, transfers and agents’ fees is limited to a percentage of their revenues. By adhering to these regulations, the Pro League aims to promote financial discipline and long- term sustainability within Belgian football, align - ing with broader European standards. Likewise, the licence conditions for basketball clubs in the BNXT League will be strengthened as from the 2025/2026 season to further avoid financial instability of clubs. Good governance and integrity More sports federations are implementing governance codes to improve accountability and ethical management within Belgian sports organisations. Since 2016, there has been a code for good governance in Flemish sports fed - erations. The code is built around three dimen - sions, namely transparency, democracy and decent internal control. Sports federations that work on quality principles, including good gov - ernance, are also financially rewarded for this. This code provides an overall quality improve -
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