Betsson begins replacing betFIRST brand across Belgian sites and licences

Betsson has started to replace the betFIRST brand in Belgium, with sports and casino web addresses redirecting to Betsson domains and licence records updated to the Swedish group's sites. The visible switch emerged in late September 2026, less than three weeks after the first public signals that a branding change was imminent. Marcus Webb reports on the technical redirects, licence links and the underlying commercial arrangements.

What changed online: domains and redirects show Betsson replacing betFIRST in Belgium

Visitors to the Belgian sports-betting address sports.betfirst.be are now redirected to www.betssonsports.be, and the casino portal betfirstcasino.be redirects to betssoncasino.be. The site betsson.be is serving as a hub that links the group's local sports and casino offers together. These are customer-facing changes: players who previously used betFIRST addresses now land on Betsson-branded pages.

The redirects appeared less than three weeks after the first public signs that Betsson planned a local rebrand, indicating a phased operational rollout rather than an instantaneous switchover. The changes are visible across both the sportsbook and casino touchpoints.

Licence records updated while operating companies remain the same

The F1+ licence number 116764 remains linked to SAGEVAS SA/NV, but the public address of that licence record now points to www.betssonsports.be. Separately, the casino platform that has operated since 2024 under an A+ licence 595153 — the authorisation held by the Casino van Middelkerke — now appears under the betssoncasino.be domain.

Betsson does not hold the A+ licence directly. The group's Belgian casino offer operates through the existing partnership with Groupe Partouche, owner of the Casino van Middelkerke, and the licensed operator remains the same company. The visible commercial name and the addresses seen by players are what have changed; the underlying licence holders and the legal operating entities have not been replaced in public records.

Background: takeover timeline and prior local positioning

Betsson completed its acquisition of betFIRST in July 2023 and has been present in Belgium since that closing. At the time of the takeover the group positioned betFIRST as its Belgian operator focused on the local player base. In 2024 Betsson launched a full online casino offering in Belgium through betFIRST under the Casino van Middelkerke’s A+ licence 595153.

For more on how operators manage local licences when relaunching brands, platform vendors and compliance teams will find the article on regulation useful.

Why the change matters commercially and for compliance teams

The primary change is brand identity in the market: players now see the Betsson name where betFIRST previously dominated. From a regulatory and compliance perspective the transition shows how a change of commercial name and customer-facing addresses can be implemented without issuing a new F1+ licence, provided the licence holder remains the same and regulators are notified of the necessary adjustments.

That model — keeping the licence and operating company constant while altering the trading name and public-facing URLs — reduces the need for a full licence transfer. It still requires the operator to follow the regulator's change-notification procedures and to ensure that the licence record points to the correct active site.

Operational mechanics and what operators should be checking

Platform teams, compliance officers and payment operations should verify three areas during such a rebrand:

1. DNS and redirect chains: ensure sportsbook and casino redirects lead to live Betsson domains without breaking affiliate or player journeys.

2. Licence linking and public records: confirm the regulator's licence page (F1+ 116764 for SAGEVAS SA/NV and A+ 595153 for Casino van Middelkerke) displays the correct active site address.

3. Commercial and contractual notices: review partnership agreements where the operator relies on a third-party licence holder, here Groupe Partouche for the A+ licence.

Payment teams will also need to review merchant descriptors and fraud-monitoring rules to avoid mismatches that could increase chargebacks or block deposits. Operators integrating such changes should coordinate across product, payments and compliance to minimise player friction.

What this does not change

The operating company tied to the F1+ licence remains SAGEVAS SA/NV. The A+ licence 595153 continues to be that of the Casino van Middelkerke, and Groupe Partouche remains the licence partner for the casino operations. Betsson’s presence in Belgium dates to the July 2023 acquisition of betFIRST, and the 2024 casino launch was already delivered through those licence arrangements.

The current activity is therefore a public-facing brand consolidation rather than a transfer of regulatory assets.

"The visible brand and address that players use are what evolve; the operator linked to the F1+ licence does not change," said industry sources familiar with the filings.

Market implications and next steps for stakeholders

For competitors and regulators the move clarifies Betsson's intent to trade under its corporate brand in Belgium rather than continue to maintain the betFIRST trading name. For vendors and suppliers the near-term implication is that integration points — APIs, redirects, compliance dashboards and merchant records — must be validated against the Betsson domains now in use.

Operators planning similar transitions should document the change process and ensure the regulator has record of the updated public addresses. For platform vendors, opportunities arise to offer migration support that covers DNS, licence-record checks and customer-journey continuity.

Those monitoring the Belgian market can expect the betFIRST brand to decline in prominence as Betsson completes the phased switch across channels.