Belgium Is Transferring the Gaming Commission to the FPS Economy (2025–2026)
Preliminary draft law, a draft royal decree sent to the Council of State, and second-reading approval on 25 September 2026
Last verified: 2026-10-06
Belgium is transferring the Gaming Commission and gambling competence from the Minister of Justice to the Minister of Economy and the FPS Economy. The Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft law on 17 October 2025 and 19 December 2025, a draft royal decree on 30 April 2026, and that decree in second reading on 25 September 2026. The sources read do not confirm final enactment or entry into force.
Transfer of the Gaming Commission to the FPS Economy (in progress)
What has happened
On 17 October 2025 the Council of Ministers approved, on the proposal of Economy Minister David Clarinval and Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden, a preliminary draft law on the transfer of the Gaming Commission and of gambling competence to the FPS Economy, and approved it in second reading on 19 December 2025. On 30 April 2026 it approved a draft royal decree amending several royal decrees as a result of the transfer and repealing decrees that no longer have a legal basis, and submitted it to the Council of State for advice. On 25 September 2026 it approved that draft royal decree in second reading. A communiqué of 18 September 2026 refers to the transfer of competence over gambling and the Commission from the Minister of Justice to the Minister of Economy, and to the resulting change of signing minister on a bill about 2026 licence-holder contributions.
What is not confirmed: the sources read do not show the final enactment of the transfer law or the royal decree, their publication or their entry into force. This record therefore describes the transfer as under way and does not say that the Commission has legally moved to the FPS Economy. The reference to the Minister of Economy in the 18 September 2026 communiqué concerns the minister responsible for the bill, not the completion of the Commission’s transfer.
Council of Ministers of 17 October 2025. [1]
Council of Ministers of 19 December 2025. [2]
Council of Ministers of 30 April 2026. [3]
Council of Ministers communiqué of 18 September 2026. [4]
Council of Ministers of 25 September 2026. [5]
Verification status of this record
This record is at the source-review stage. Every claim in it is marked Verified: each rests on a primary source, namely the Gaming Commission’s own pages, the Gambling Act as coordinated on the Commission’s website, the Official Gazette, the Federal Government’s Council of Ministers communiqués or the Flemish Government and Parliament. Article-level provisions follow the Commission’s unofficially coordinated text of the Act. The provisions changed by the Law of 7 May 2024 (the fine ranges in articles 63 to 65, article 4 §§4-5, article 8/1, articles 54/1, 55 and 55/2 and the blacklist in article 43/8 §4) were cross-checked against that law as published in the Official Gazette of 22 May 2024, read through the etaamb.openjustice.be copy of the Gazette. The official consolidated text on ejustice.just.fgov.be could not be retrieved. Several Commission and government pages were read through search excerpts because the sites block automated retrieval. Market statistics from the Commission’s 2025 Annual Report are not included, because the report itself could not be read; they will be added once verified against it.
Key facts
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Verified
On 17 October 2025 the Council of Ministers approved, on the proposal of Economy Minister David Clarinval and Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden, a preliminary draft law on the transfer of the Gaming Commission and of competence over games of chance to the FPS Economy.
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Verified
On 19 December 2025 the Council of Ministers approved the preliminary draft law in second reading, on the transfer of the Commission and of competence over games of chance to the Minister of Economy and the FPS Economy.
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Verified
On 30 April 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a draft royal decree amending several royal decrees as a result of the transfer of the Commission and of gambling competence to the FPS Economy and repealing certain decrees that no longer have a legal basis, and submitted it to the Council of State for advice.
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Verified
A Council of Ministers communiqué of 18 September 2026 refers to the transfer of competence over gambling and the Gaming Commission from the Minister of Justice to the Minister of Economy and to the resulting change of signing minister, and says a bill ratifying the Royal Decree of 11 March 2026 on 2026 licence-holder contributions, first approved on 24 April 2026, was re-submitted for that reason.
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Verified
On 25 September 2026 the Council of Ministers approved in second reading the draft royal decree amending several royal decrees as a result of the transfer of the Gaming Commission and of competence over gambling to the FPS Economy, on the proposal of the Ministers of Economy and Justice.
Sources
- Federal Government of Belgium (news.belgium.be)Primary source — Ministerraad van 17 oktober 2025 — https://news.belgium.be/nl/ministerraad-van-17-oktober-2025
- Federal Government of Belgium (news.belgium.be)Primary source — Ministerraad van 19 december 2025 — https://news.belgium.be/nl/ministerraad-van-19-december-2025
- Federal Government of Belgium (news.belgium.be)Primary source — Overdracht van de Kansspelcommissie naar de FOD Economie (Ministerraad van 30 april 2026) — https://news.belgium.be/nl/overdracht-van-de-kansspelcommissie-naar-de-fod-economie
- Federal Government of Belgium (news.belgium.be)Primary source — Bijdrage door de houders van vergunningen van de Kansspelcommissie voor 2026 — https://news.belgium.be/nl/bijdrage-door-de-houders-van-vergunningen-van-de-kansspelcommissie-voor-2026
- Federal Government of Belgium (news.belgium.be)Primary source — Ministerraad van 25 september 2026 — https://news.belgium.be/nl/ministerraad-van-25-september-2026