Belgian regulator urges haste on reforms as gambling activity rises
The Belgian Gambling Commission has issued its annual report.
Belgium.- The Belgian Gambling Commission has urged the government to advance with regulatory reforms announced at the beginning of the year. The comments come in the regulator’s 2024 Annual Report, which provides an overview of player engagement, licensing activity and enforcement measures last year.
Kansspelcommissie president Magali Clavie called for progress on plans to transfer oversight of the regulator to the Minister of the Economy and emphasised the need for operational resources and strategic renewal to align the regulatory approach with that of other countries in Europe.
She said in the report: “Too much precious time has been wasted. It would be a shame and a shame to waste even more. The new government’s agreement, made public on January 31 2025 finally offers a glimpse of new perspectives as it provides for reform of the commission and transfer to the Minister of the Economy, the sole authority. This should be enough to breathe new life into things and allow us to rethink things after 25 years.
“May this reform go in the expected direction and may it allow the commission to grow and adapt to the market that it regulates in a modern way as do its European counterparts, whom I thank here for our discussions and work within the Gambling Regulators European Forum.
Key figures from Belgian gaming in 2024
The report highlights a rise in player participation in the last four years. On average, 155,643 people engaged with gambling platforms daily in 2024, which is a 37.4 per cent increase compared to 2020. Monthly player counts reached 602,288, up 19.8 per cent from four years prior, and new registrations totalled 193,342, reflecting a 15 per cent year-on-year growth.
Land-based venues accounted for a smaller share, with approximately 15,937 daily visitors to physical casinos.
Belgium’s Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS) had 56,458 registrations. Close to a third joined voluntarily, while similar proportions were enrolled due to collective debt arrangements or were added following legal proceedings. Some 12,609 of those registered identified as women, 38,823 as men, and 5,422 did not specify a gender.
Belgian gambling licensees and enforcement action
By the end of 2024, the regulator had issued 9 Class A casino licences and 9 A+ extensions. It also granted the renewal of Brussels Casino’s licence to 2026 and the approval for Middelkerke Casino’s new location
Other licence categories included:
- 175 B-class (automated gaming rooms) and 49 B+ licences
- 4,272 C-class (café-based gaming) licences
- 8,534 D-class gaming staff licences
- 17,519 E-class equipment supplier licences
Additionally, there were 408 betting agencies, 28 licensed bookmakers and 1,281 newsagents with gaming permissions.
In terms of enforcement against unlicensed gambling, the regulator reported that it investigated 101 unlicensed operators in 2024. Of these, 31 were unreachable and 70 were asked to block Belgian access, while only 19 complied. Some 34 were blacklisted and 14 underwent follow-up inspections.
A total of 105 illegal gaming URLs were blocked during the year. Meanwhile, six affiliate marketers were warned to revise player-related advertising content, with half of them complying. The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has been stressing its concerns about the extent of unlicensed gambling in Belgium. It says that 25 per cent of players use unlicensed gambling sites.
The commission issued 133 sanctions. That included 66 fines together totalling €4.6m, almost four times as much as the total value of fines in 2023. It also made 21 licence withdrawals, 7 suspensions and 22 formal warnings. Some 17 cases were deemed inapplicable
