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Bad news from Belgium

Posted By: Luc Palmans
Date: Friday, 8 October 2010, at 2:38 p.m.

Some bad news from Belgium. Walter Meuwis had to cancel the Hasselt Open (9-10 October) because of a conflict with the gaming commission from Belgium. Here is his e-mail to inform the participants:

"I am sorry to have inform all that the Hasselt Open has been cancelled. As a result of a phoned complaint to the gaming commission on Tuesday, 5 October has for the first time in Belgium been decided that backgammon is a game of chance. I have immediately contacted the gaming commission and given numerous arguments with result that they would re-examine it. This evening (Thursday, 7 October - LP) I have been informed that the commission stands by their decision. This means that it is forbidden to ask an entree fee & to give prizemoney in a backgammontournament. Therefore I have to cancel the tournament and I also fear for any future tournaments in Belgium. I hope that with this mail at least some of the players still will be able to avoid unnecessary transportations & other inconveniences. There are other players that I can't contact directly & other players that allready booked their hotels so they might still come (Hasselt is a beautiful town & the weather will be great). For those I will be present at the tournament location, it will be nice to see friends again & we might play some friendly games. Again I sincerely apologize for any inconveniences. I did not expect this myself and by my knowledge informed only backgammonplayers about this tournament. The (intended?) late complaint has a maximum damage as result, as well for myself as for many other players & I'm very sorry for all about that but I have to abide the law. Who caused this? The commission will not give that information but I find solice with the thought that the truth one day will come out! Walter Meuwis"

This is a heavy blow. The tournaments in Belgium (Antwerp, Ghent, Louvain; Hasselt was a new one) are very popular: well organised, interesting schedules (mostly Swiss system with clocks), good & fair players (from Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, England, France), nice locations. You can find most of the information at the website of the "Leuven Backgammon Club". But the law decided else. In the next weeks we will look for a solution. Fighting the law is not really an option: the gaming commission is not very flexible. The poker players also have a hard time in Belgium. In 2005 and 2006 Chiva organised two tournaments in Ostende (Belgium). But that was in the casino, and that is a complete other situation. Carol Cole already received the information; so she can addapt the calender. It's specific sad for Walter Meuwis who did his best to organise the tournament. He's a regular at the European tournaments (Enghien, Nordic, Bristol, Sweden, Cyprus...) and a lot of readers will know him.

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