New on 1 September: Stricter rules for gambling and liquids in luggage

From stricter rules for gambling and liquids in luggage to teachers with a foreign diploma who can be temporarily appointed: here is what changes in Belgium on Sunday 1 September.

First, the rules on gambling will become a lot stricter from 1 September. The changes result from a new gambling law, which aims to better protect players from gambling addiction.

The age limit for any kind of gambling will be increased to 21 and there will be a total ban on all forms of gambling advertising, both online and offline. Slot machines in bars, youth clubs and petrol stations will be prohibited, and betting and casino-style games can no longer be combined in one location or on one website.

Liquids in hand luggage

Strict rules on liquids and gels in hand luggage will be reintroduced at airports throughout the EU. The rules were introduced in 2006 but were relaxed in some airports if luggage could be checked with CT scanners. The EU has doubts about the reliability of those CT baggage scanners and more lenient rules will be abolished from 1 September.

Across the EU, travellers will again only be allowed to carry liquids in packages of up to 100ml again. They will also have to repack packages containing liquid in one transparent plastic bag, with a maximum volume of 1 litre.

At Brussels Airport, the old rules were still in place.

Foreign teaching qualifications

From 1 September, a school can provisionally grant a candidate staff member with a foreign diploma a temporary appointment. The condition is that the staff member submits a valid application to the government for the equivalence of their foreign diploma.

The new staff member will then receive a salary based on the lowest salary scale for that position until their diploma is recognised. When the government has recognised the teacher’s qualifications, they can be appointed full time and will receive a regularised salary. If the diploma is not recognised, the temporary appointment ends.

The measure will apply to all positions in education, except for health professions in special education.

^{© BELGA PHOTO JOHN THYS}