Belgian gambling regulator members appointed for next six years
King Philippe has appointed the 12 members of the country’s gambling commission.
Belgium. King Philippe of Belgium has appointed the 12 members of the country’s gambling regulatory body, the Kansspelcommissie, for the next six years. Their term begins today, September 1, following the formal publication of a Royal Decree and announcement in the Official Gazette.
The 12 members of the gambling regulator comprise six primary members and six alternates drawn from five key government ministries: Finance, Justice, Economy, Interior, and Public Health. Each is represented by one Dutch-speaking and one French-speaking delegate to ensure linguistic balance in regulatory oversight.
The Ministry of Finance gets two additional places because it oversees the National Lottery. Anne-Laure Mouligneaux and Ignace Vandewalle will represent finance, pensions and lottery minister Jozef Jambon (also deputy prime minister since February) with a focus on compliance. Meanwhile, Caroline Dujacquier and Tom Van Caeckenberghe will focus on compliance for then National Lottery.
The Ministry of Justice’s appointees, Nathalie Patoussa and Daisy Vervenne, will focus on player protection policies, while the Ministry of Public Health will be represented by Ferdinand Van Der Gracht and Lena Boons, who will aim to develop measures to mitigate addiction and related risks.
Michaël Stokard and Sahin Yazici will represent the Ministry of Economy in recognition of the gambling sector’s importance for economic growth and employment. Finally, the Ministry of the Interior will be represented by Stéphane Obeid and Béatrice Vossen.
The appointment of the members of the Belgian regulator for the next six years follows a period of tightening market restrictions. New loss limits were introduced in 2022, followed by a ban on gambling advertising in 2023. Last year, Belgium banned gambling sponsorship in sports and raised the legal gambling age to 21.
The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has warned that such measures are pushing players to the unregulated sector. It says that 25 per cent of players use unlicensed gambling sites, rising to 65 per cent among male players aged 18 to 21.
