The Belgian government has settled on a list of three poker sites which will be allowed to offer real money games to their citizens. According to several reports, PokerStars.be, Partouche.be and Casino777.be (a sub-company in the Casino777.com family) are the first three sites to receive official approval.

Several of the larger European poker sites have been left out in the cold as a result of this ruling. There are some, however, who believe that they can still offer their services to Belgian players, regardless of the standpoint of their government. Among these are PartyPoker.com and several skins on the iPoker Network, who have called the new law “unenforceable,” according to iGaming Business.

While this may currently be the case, government officials are indeed moving to halt user access to unauthorized sites. The new law will also create a blacklist for sites deemed unsuitable for play, each of which will then be blocked by one the nation’s four largest internet service providers.

Though similar nation-specific poker sites have worked in regions of Europe, some observers are concerned that things may not go as smoothly in Belgium. The country has a population of just over 11 million people, putting them well behind both Italy and France, two of the more successful examples of this practice. There is also concern surrounding the taxation of poker winnings, a subject which has not been addressed in the new law. As things currently stand, there is no legislation which explicitly answers this question one way or the other.

Despite all these issues, American poker enthusiasts may want to keep a close eye on the Belgian situation. If such a small nation can manage to create a viable set of poker laws, it could prove to be a hopeful sign for the potential success of intra-state poker on U.S. soil.