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
Gross gaming revenue (gross margin), levied regionally
11% of gross gaming revenue on online games and online betting - uniform across the three Regions
Gambling taxation is a regional competence, but all three Regions (Flemish, Walloon, Brussels-Capital) currently apply the same 11% rate to online games of chance and online bets, levied on gross margin (stakes minus prizes paid). Land-based rates are higher (e.g. land-based betting 15% in Flanders/Brussels vs 11% in Wallonia; land-based casino games in 33%/44% bands) but do not apply online. Licence holders also pay a federal annual contribution to the Gaming Commission, set yearly by Royal Decree and indexed. A rate increase on online games has been flagged in the Flemish coalition agreement but is not yet in force.
Key facts
Belgium across the portal
RTP rules
No statutory minimum RTP for online casino games. The Royal Decree of 25 October 2018 on operating games of chance via information-society instruments sets deposit and bonus limits, a credit-card ban and registration checks, but no return floor and no RTP-display duty. A separate 84% theoretical-redistribution rule (Royal Decree of 8 April 2003, Art. 3) governs land-based class II automatic devices only and does not extend to online play.
The online decree contains no duty to display the RTP figure to players; player-facing information is limited to the game rules and the statutory play, deposit and bonus limits.
Licence types
Fees
Change-watch
Minimum gambling age for betting and casino products raised to 21, effective 1 September 2024.
Phased advertising restrictions continue; sports-shirt/stadium sponsorship being phased out through 2025-2028.
Sources (3)
Not legal or tax advice. This is a teaching summary; confirm every figure against the primary regulator (Belgian Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie / Commission des jeux de hasard)) before relying on it.