Tougher Gambling Protection in Belgium From 1st of September

The Gambling Authority of Belgium, Kansspelcommissie, revealed new gambling protection measures starting from the 1st of September 2024. It will include a higher minimum age for gambling, which will go from today’s 18 to 21 years of age.

Belgians Will Get a Better Gambling Protection

Belgium’s decision for the featured measures follows January’s approval of new amendments to the Belgian Gambling Act of 1999. Among them were the new player protection amendments.

The Chamber of Representatives approves this mandate with the endorsement of Stefaan Van Hecke, the Green Party’s Minister. With it, Belgium will join Greece in becoming only the second EU member to apply the 21-year age restrictions. This requirement is for both forms of gambling, online and land-based.

Before this decree, the country did have a 21-year age restriction for access to arcades and land-based casinos. However, new rules also include a ban on slot machines in clubs, bars, and recreational centres.

Next, the decree further tightened the ban on gambling advertising in Belgium, which first appeared on the 1st of July 2023. Now, from September, online casinos that operate in the country won’t be able to offer free bets, gifts, or bonuses.

Moreover, licensed Belgian operators won’t be able to promote games of chance on their platforms. The framework even features a compliance command to operators. It states that they must separate the customers’ access to other types of games of chance. This includes sportsbooks, poker, and bingo.

As it stands at the moment, operators can advertise at football stadiums until the 1st of January 2025. This is due to the legal intervention conducted by the football clubs from the Belgian Pro League. These clubs managed to secure a grace period to fulfil their advertising contracts.

The Green Party announced that it had finally won against the gambling lobby. Its members were tirelessly fighting for 4 years to implement better protection for Belgians.