La Dernière Heure - 15 Jan. 2022

...A delegation was able to present its demands to a representative of the minister in charge of the sector. "We would like to be treated like any other shop", defends Yannik Bellefroid, president of 'l'Union Professionnelle des agences de paris' (Upap) and managing director of Ladbrokes...

The measures taken by Codeco are not always legible and understandable by the population. This is the case for the gambling sector, which must remain closed until further notice. According to the estimate of the Brussels-Ixelles police, around 300 people demonstrated yesterday morning in front of the office of the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne. The sector decided to protest against the closure of betting agencies, casino halls and the ban on café games.

Demonstrators carried multiple placards and banners with messages such as "Level playing field for all", "Open or die? Codeco is playing Russian roulette with our jobs" or "The masks must come off". Tokens with the inscriptions "open" and "closed" on both sides were left at the cabinet to flip a coin for the opening of the different sectors during the Codeco.

A delegation was able to present its demands to a representative of the minister responsible for the sector. "We would like to be treated like any other shop", defends Yannik Bellefroid. Yannik Bellefroid, president of 'l'Union Professionnelle des agences de paris' (Upap) and managing director of Ladbrokes Belgium, the leading betting operator in Belgium, defends his position. "We have been closed 325 days in 2020 and 2021. The companies in our sector have accumulated losses that are abysmal. [...] We have been successively assimilated to the recreational sector, to the hotel and catering industry... The sector has not been considered in its specificity and has been closed without further consideration. People come, play and leave. Some people stay for a while for one or two coffees, respecting the sanitary rules".

About 300 people demonstrated yesterday morning in front of the office of the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne.