Belgium

Gambling is governed by the Gambling Act of 7 May 1999 and supervised by the Gaming Commission. Belgium uses a 'brick-and-mortar attachment' model: online licences are supplementary '+' permits (A+ online casino, B+ online games, F1+ online betting) that can only be held by operators who also hold the corresponding land-based licence (A casino, B arcade, F1 betting), whose numbers are capped. Suppliers and software/platform providers need an E licence and staff a D personal licence. Gambling taxes are levied by the Regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels-Capital) rather than federally, and a federal contribution funds the Commission. Recent reforms raised the minimum age to 21 for betting and casino products, imposed a near-total advertising ban and default deposit limits, and rely on the EPIS exclusion register.

The '+' attachment model

In Belgium an online licence is not a standalone permit. The supplementary '+' licences - A+ for online casino games, B+ for online gaming, F1+ for online betting - attach to a corresponding land-based licence (A casino, B arcade, F1 betting organiser), each numerically capped under the 1999 Act; casino A licences, for instance, are limited to nine. A prospective online operator therefore cannot enter the regulated market by qualifying online alone. It must first hold, or partner with a holder of, the scarce underlying land-based licence, which tightly bounds the number of legal online sites the market can ever contain.

Licence classes explained

The Act sets a lettered taxonomy. Class A covers casinos and A+ their online extension; class B covers gaming arcades and B+ online games; class C authorises limited machines in drinking establishments; class F1 covers the organising of bets, F1+ online betting, and F2 those taking bets on an organiser's behalf. Two classes support the system: E for suppliers of equipment, software and services, and D, the personal licence individuals must hold to work in the sector. Class G covers games of chance run through media formats such as television or telephone. Each permitted activity maps to a specific letter.

Regional tax, federal levy

Gambling taxation is a regional competence held by Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital rather than the federal state, yet all three currently levy the same 11% on online games and online bets, calculated on gross margin - stakes minus prizes paid. Land-based activities face higher regional rates that do not apply online. Separately, licence holders owe a federal annual contribution that funds the Gaming Commission itself. This alignment is not guaranteed: the Flemish coalition agreement flags a rise in the online rate, though no increased figure has yet taken effect, and regional divergence would in principle be possible.

A strict protection regime

Since 1 September 2024 the minimum age has been 21 for casino play and betting alike, the betting threshold having risen from 18. A near-total advertising ban under the Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 took effect on 1 July 2023, with advertising in sports stadiums prohibited from 2025 and remaining sports sponsorship phased out by 2028. A default weekly deposit limit of about EUR 200 applies across licensed accounts, raisable only after financial checks. The national EPIS register records self-requested and court-ordered exclusions, which operators must screen against before granting a player access.

Enforcement and reach

Enforcement runs through the Gaming Commission, which issues, suspends and withdraws licences and maintains a blacklist of unlicensed sites that internet and payment providers are expected to block. Because legal supply is bound to capped land-based licences and the '+' attachment, the licensed perimeter is deliberately narrow, placing weight on action against operators outside it. The near-total advertising ban has been challenged in court and upheld. Breaches of age, exclusion or deposit-limit duties expose licensees to sanctions ranging from fines to loss of the underlying land-based licence on which the online activity itself depends.

Tax

Key facts

Belgium across the portal

Licence types

Fees

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