Gambling Act of 7 May 1999 and the Amendments of 2024
The Act on games of chance, betting, gaming establishments and the protection of players
Last verified: 2026-10-06
The Act of 7 May 1999 is the basis of Belgian gambling law. It sets the prohibition, the licence classes and their terms, the online supplementary licences, the age limit, the bonus and advertising bans, the EPIS register and the penalties. The Act of 18 February 2024, in force from 1 September 2024, tightened age, bonus, advertising and licence-cumulation rules.
Gambling Act of 7 May 1999
Overview
The Act of 7 May 1999 on games of chance, betting, gaming establishments and the protection of players is the foundation of Belgian gambling law. Article 4 forbids operating a game of chance or gaming establishment without a Commission licence, and also forbids knowingly taking part in, facilitating, advertising or recruiting players for an unlicensed game. Article 25 sets the licence classes and their terms; article 43/8 allows one supplementary online licence for each A, B or F1 holder.
Player-protection rules sit in chapter VI: the minimum age of 21 (article 54), identification of players and EPIS checks (articles 54/1 and 55), the ban on credit-card payment online (article 58), the bonus ban (article 60) and the advertising ban (article 61). Criminal fines run from EUR 26 to EUR 120,000 or EUR 72,000 depending on the article breached (articles 63 and 64, as replaced by the Law of 7 May 2024), before the legal surcharge, and can be doubled in defined cases (article 65). Article references follow the Commission’s unofficially coordinated text, with the provisions changed by the Law of 7 May 2024 cross-checked against the Official Gazette.
The Law of 7 May 2024, published on 22 May 2024, also made it an offence to use another person’s data to gain access to gambling, inserted consumer mediation (article 8/1) and the identification and EPIS rules (articles 54/1, 55, 55/2), and set staged entry-into-force dates: 1 September 2024 for articles 5, 10 and 24, then 1 May 2025 and 1 May 2026 for the EPIS and identification provisions depending on the licence type.
The Act of 18 February 2024 entered into force on 1 September 2024, with a ban on “3.3” devices, a ban on cumulating online licences on one website, a ban on gifts, bonuses and free games, a principled advertising ban, and an age limit of 21 with a refund where no age check took place. The Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 sets the permitted forms of advertising.
The Gambling Act as unofficially coordinated by the Gaming Commission (Dutch). [1]
The Law of 7 May 2024 as published in the Official Gazette of 22 May 2024. [2]
Licence classes, terms and guarantees
| Licence | Activity | Renewable term (years) | Statutory guarantee (EUR) | Statutory cap | Legal basis | Verified against primary source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Class I establishment (casino) | 15 | 250000 | 9 casinos (article 29) | Articles 25, 29, 71 | ✓ | All nine licences granted: 4 Flanders, 4 Wallonia, 1 Brussels |
| A+ | Casino games through information-society instruments (online) | 15 | 250000 | One per A licensee | Articles 25, 43/8, 71 | ✓ | Only A licensees may apply; term tied to the A licence |
| B | Class II establishment (gaming arcade) | 9 | 75000 | 180 arcades (article 34) | Articles 25, 34, 71 | ✓ | Operates under a convention with the municipality |
| B+ | Arcade games online | 9 | 75000 | One per B licensee | Articles 25, 43/8, 71 | ✓ | Term tied to the B licence |
| C | Class III establishment (licensed premises or café) | 5 | — | Not stated in this table | Articles 25, 71 | ✓ | No guarantee under article 71 |
| D | Staff of gaming establishments | — | — | Not stated in this table | Articles 25, 71 | ✓ | No term stated in article 25; no guarantee |
| E | Suppliers of games and equipment, and maintenance | 10 | 25000 | Not stated in this table | Articles 25, 71 | ✓ | EUR 25,000 for maintenance, repair or equipment services only; EUR 12,500 per started batch of 50 devices for other class E holders |
| F1 | Betting operator | 9 | 10000 | Maximum number of operators set by the King (article 43/3) | Articles 25, 43/3, 71 | ✓ | Only F1 holders may obtain F1+ or F1P |
| F1+ | Betting through information-society instruments (online) | 9 | 75000 | One per F1 licensee | Articles 25, 43/8, 71 | ✓ | Term tied to the F1 licence |
| F1P | Horse-race betting | — | 0 | Granted only to an F1 holder | Articles 25, 71 | ✓ | Guarantee of EUR 0 under article 71 |
| F2 | Acceptance of bets for an F1 holder in class IV establishments | 3 | — | Number and spread of class IV establishments set by the King (article 43/4) | Articles 25, 43/4, 71 | ✓ | No guarantee under article 71 |
The Commission’s notice of the entry into force of the 2024 amendments. [3]
The Commission’s page on the advertising rules and the Royal Decree of 27 February 2023. [4]
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
The Act of 7 May 1999 on games of chance, betting, gaming establishments and the protection of players was published in the Belgian Official Gazette of 30 December 1999, page 50040; the Commission publishes an unofficially coordinated text and points to the official consolidated version on the ejustice website.
Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie), Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)
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Verified
The Act lists the licence classes and terms in article 25: A casino (15 years), B arcade (9), C café (5), D staff, E suppliers (10), F1 betting operator (9), F2 acceptance of bets (3), F1P horse-race betting, and the supplementary licences A+, B+ and F1+; an A licence may be renewed or granted for a shorter period where a casino concession ends before 15 years.
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Verified
Article 27 bars combining supplementary licences of different classes through the same domain name and URLs, referring players to games under another licence, using one player account for games under different licences, and transactions between player accounts.
Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie), Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)
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Verified
Class I casinos are limited to nine and to named municipalities (article 29); the Commission says all nine class A licences have been granted and are valid for 15 years.
Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie), Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)
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Verified
Class II gaming arcades are capped at 180 by article 34 of the Act, and an arcade operator needs a class B licence (article 25).
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Verified
Betting operators need an F1 licence and the King sets the maximum number of operators (article 43/3); bets are accepted for an F1 holder by F2 licensees in class IV establishments, and the King sets the maximum number and spread of class IV establishments (article 43/4).
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Verified
Under article 71 the licence guarantee is EUR 250,000 for A and for A+, EUR 75,000 for B, B+ and F1+, EUR 10,000 for F1, EUR 25,000 for class E holders providing only maintenance, repair or equipment services and EUR 12,500 per started batch of 50 devices for other class E holders, EUR 0 for F1P, and none for classes C, D and F2; the King can change the amounts by decree.
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Verified
The Act’s player-protection chapter provides that licence holders A, A+, B, B+, F1+ and F2 must refuse excluded persons (article 54 §3), must identify everyone who enters or wants to play and refuse anyone whose identity is in doubt (article 54/1), and that EPIS stores name, date of birth, national register or other identification number and the reason and dates of exclusion for five years after the exclusion ends (article 55).
Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie), Belgian Official Gazette (copy on etaamb.openjustice.be)
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Verified
Payments and incentives are restricted: no credit or loans to players except card use in casinos, credit cards banned in class II-IV establishments and for games via information-society instruments, and no cash machines in gaming establishments (article 58); no free participation, gaming credit or other advantage to influence players, with casinos allowed to give travel, meals, drinks or gifts up to EUR 1,400 per player per two months (article 60); and advertising is forbidden except where the King expressly allows it (article 61).
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Verified
Criminal penalties follow the Law of 7 May 2024 (Official Gazette of 22 May 2024): EUR 26 to EUR 120,000 for breaches of articles 4 §1, 4 §3, 8, 26, 27 first paragraph, 46 and 58 (article 63) and EUR 26 to EUR 72,000 for breaches of articles 4 §2, 4 §4, 4 §5, 43/1 to 43/4, 60 and 61 second and third paragraphs (article 64), either of which may be doubled for repeat offences within five years or offences against a person under 21 (article 65); stakes and equipment are confiscated (article 67) and a judge may order a gaming establishment closed (article 68).
Belgian Official Gazette (copy on etaamb.openjustice.be), Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)
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Verified
The Law of 7 May 2024, published on 22 May 2024, made the following changes to the Gambling Act: it made it an offence to use another person’s personal data to gain access to a game or to let an excluded person in (article 4 §§4-5), inserted article 8/1 on consumer mediation, inserted article 54/1 on identification and EPIS authentication, rewrote article 55 on EPIS and inserted article 55/2 on EPIS logs, replaced the penalties in articles 63 and 64, and replaced age references of 18 by 21 in articles 15/2, 43/1 and 65; its articles 5, 10 and 24 entered into force on 1 September 2024, and its articles 2, 14 to 18 and 20 enter into force on the first day of the twelfth month after publication (counting from May 2024, 1 May 2025) for A, A+, B, B+ and F1+ licence holders and F2 holders in fixed class IV establishments, and on the first day of the twenty-fourth month (1 May 2026) for F2 holders in mobile class IV establishments or outside class IV establishments.
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Verified
The Act of 18 February 2024 amending the Gambling Act entered into force on 1 September 2024; the Commission lists its measures as a ban on “3.3” devices, a ban on cumulating online licences on the same website, a ban on gifts, bonuses and free games, a principled ban on advertising for games of chance, and an age limit of 21 with a refund where no age check took place.
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Verified
Article 61 of the Gambling Act, in force in its current version since 1 September 2024, bans advertising unless the King expressly authorises it, and the Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 sets the conditions; the Commission says sports sponsorship is only possible under article 6 of that decree and that from 1 January 2025 it may no longer appear on the front of sportswear and may not exceed 75 cm².
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Verified
The Commission says that, to comply with a judgment of the Tournai Court of First Instance of 20 June 2023 and pending a ruling on the merits, a Council of State judgment or an amendment of article 61 or the Royal Decree of 27 February 2023, it will not initiate sanction procedures in certain cases involving a “sub-brand” of an operator.
Sources
- Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)Primary source — Kansspelwet 7 mei 1999 (unofficially coordinated text, Dutch) — https://www.gamingcommission.be/nl/wetgeving/kansspelwet-7-mei-1999
- Belgian Official Gazette (copy on etaamb.openjustice.be)Primary source — Wet van 7 mei 2024 tot wijziging van de wet van 7 mei 1999 op de kansspelen (Belgisch Staatsblad 22 mei 2024) — https://etaamb.openjustice.be/nl/wet-van-07-mei-2024_n2024004501.html
- Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)Primary source — Modification of the Gambling Act (2 Sep 2024) — https://www.gamingcommission.be/en/modification-of-the-gambling-act-1
- Gaming Commission (Kansspelcommissie)Primary source — RD advertising — https://gamingcommission.be/en/rd-advertising