Overview
Emmanuel Mewissen co-founded what became GAMING1 in 1992 by opening the first Circus gaming room in Liege, in partnership with Jean-Marie Léonard and the Bosquin family. He studied at the Université de Liège from 1981 to 1988 and has built his career in Wallonia around the gaming and betting industry.
Mewissen serves as CEO of GAMING1 and remains a reference shareholder alongside Sylvain Boniver and Nicolas Léonard following the December 2021 partnership with CVC Capital Partners. Since September 2005 he has also been president of the Groupement des concessionnaires de casinos belges (Belgian Casino Concessionaires Association), a role that places him at the centre of Belgian gambling policy and regulation.
He is publicly active on questions of gambling regulation, player protection and industry policy, and oversees a group of more than 1,600 employees operating across Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, Spain and the United States.
Career history
In the news
- 30 years of entrepreneurship, innovation and learning, rooted in Liège, with ambitions extending beyond Belgium. In an eight-page interview with Ciné-Télé-Revue, our co-founders, Emmanuel Mewissen and Nicolas Leonard, look back at the journey of Ardent Group Belgium: from its first projects in Liège to a group bringing together nearly 1,600 people today. They discuss the story behind GAMING1 and Ardent Invest, but also what comes next: technology and the use of AI, responsible gaming, diversification, our Walloon roots and the
- A proud moment for Liège and for all of us at GAMING1 ✨ We are delighted to see our #CEO, Emmanuel Mewissen, co-founder of Ardent Group Belgium, named an Honorary Citizen of the City of Liège - Ville de Liège. This distinction recognises his longstanding commitment to the city and the region through entrepreneurship, innovation, local employment and social engagement. Congratulations to Emmanuel and to all the 2026 honourees! 👏 #Liège #HonoraryCitizen #ProudlyLiège #Gaming1
- The rise of illegal markets prediction markets is not a trend anymore but likely a shift . I support all the initiatives from our regulators but here is the point - the next wave might well be a turning point and kill the industry as we know it: “Meta develops its own prediction platform to rival Polymarket, 24/06, BNR BNR, citing The New York Times, reports that Meta is developing a prediction app internally codenamed 'Arena', intended to compete with prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi. The app will initially
- Les propos de PY JEHOLET résument bien la situation . Alors que les USA favorisent massivement leurs entreprises et nous considèrent comme des vassaux Que la Chine nous noie de leurs produits et écrase nos industries Que la Russie nous mène une guerre cyber a minima On continue á se décrédibiliser en noircissant un des plus beaux succès entrepreneurial wallon. Réveillons Nous !
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