The complex investigation into the connection between Georges Louis Bouches, head of Belgium’s Movement Reform Party, and the gambling industry has caused much controversy in the Dutch-speaking media in Belgium.

A Belgian newspaper, Humo, reported that many members of the federal parliament had expressed concerns about Bushez’s links to important gambling lobbies.

The latter has been subject to stricter laws since 2022.

The news story was quickly removed after it was reported to French-speaking media via Moustique magazine via an online platform just weeks after it was first published in Dutch media.

Bushez, advocate for gambling lobby, “nothing new”
The French-speaking progressive reportedly directed the party’s policies to heavily favor gambling lobbying. 안전 토토사이트

One option was to secure a series of exemptions from advertising bans related to amateur sports clubs.

The club’s roster included the “Les France Borans de Conservatives,” a football club led by Bouchez from his presidency.

The Ekolo party’s leader, Jill Van den Bure, told the Brussels Times that the fact that Bushez advocates for gambling lobbying purposes was not news.

Van den Bure said the topic had been debated in the Bundestag for “years” and explained that the Mustique story was “announced in the morning and deleted in the afternoon” and was “just a translation of the important work of the matriarch.”

Van den Berren also called the issue “a matter of governance,” stressing that the power exerted by lobby groups is “a major concern for the political decision-making process of democracy.”

Claims of influence on the opposition to the regulation of the gambling industry
According to testimonies from political figures collected by Mr. Fumo during the investigation, Mr. Bushez claimed that there was a personal influence on MR’s opposition to the gambling sector.

At a time when gambling has become hugely popular in Belgium recently, lawmakers have tried to regulate the industry, in parallel with growing concerns about the social consequences of gambling addiction and gambling damage.

In the spring of 2022, former Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborn (Open VLD) issued a royal decree banning advertising.

MR led the fight over each bill.

Van Quickenborn explained in a royal decree that he “had the right to take that step on his own” and that “Buchez made it a headline issue.”

MR believes this type of action could prove “unproductive,” eventually leading to “loss of market control.”

The party would rather allow the industry to regulate itself.