BELGIUM Trends and Developments Contributed by: Pieter Paepe and Christoph de Preter, EDSON
challenging the legality of these fines before Belgian courts. The outcomes of these pending cases will be crucial in defining the scope of the Commission’s sanctioning powers and, by extension, the effective- ness of Belgium’s gaming policy. Since 1 June 2024, Belgian authorities have gained a new tool to tackle the unlicensed gambling market. Under this mechanism, the President of the Enterprise Court in Brussels may, upon request by any interested party, issue cease-and-desist orders not only against operators offering unlicensed games of chance but also against intermediaries, including internet service providers and major online platforms. These proceed- ings may be initiated ex parte, allowing swift interven- tion when necessary. In practice, the new procedure has already led to orders targeting websites offering unlicensed gambling services in Belgium. As a result, ISPs and tech com- panies such as Meta, Google, and Apple have been instructed to take technical and operational measures – such as blocking access to infringing sites, removing them from search results, and restricting their online visibility – to curb illegal gambling activity. Internal Changes With the Regulator In its 2025 coalition agreement, the Belgian federal government reaffirmed its intention to modernise the national framework governing games of chance and betting. The agreement highlights the goal of creating a transparent and predictable regulatory environment that ensures legal certainty for licensed operators. The government also intends to revise the Gaming Act to accommodate emerging forms of gambling and tech- nological developments. As part of this reform, the Minister of Economic Affairs will act as the exclusive governmental representative within the Gaming Commission and will be tasked with intensifying efforts to combat illegal gambling, both online and land-based. These initiatives are designed to promote fair competition within the sec- tor and strengthen consumer protection. Furthermore, local governments will assume an enhanced role in the licensing process for gambling establishments, gaining the authority to define and
regulate specific zones where such venues may oper- ate within their territories. In October 2025, the Council of Ministers approved a legislative proposal to transfer the Gaming Commis- sion and its jurisdiction over games of chance to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. On 27 October 2025, the Commission issued a for- mal opinion on another proposed piece of legislation, highlighting its operational constraints. It revealed a critical staffing shortage, with only 32.8 full-time equivalents (FTEs) employed as of mid-2025 – well below the 57 FTEs planned for 2021–25 and far short of the 80 FTEs projected as necessary for 2026–30. In its opinion, the Commission strongly advocates for greater autonomy in recruitment, arguing that this is essential to fulfil its growing responsibilities effectively. Land-Based Presence as a Condition for Obtaining an Online Licence It is an essential characteristic of Belgian gambling policy that online gaming licences (A+, B+ and F1+) can only be obtained by a company holding an offline licence (respectively A, B and F1). In a remarkable judgment of 14 July 2011, the Constitutional Court held that the requirement to hold an offline licence as a condition for obtaining an online licence did not infringe the EU internal market freedoms. Examining the proportionality of this licensing requirement, the court observed that offline presence can be kept to a strict minimum. That is, in the author’s view, a questionable posi- tion. A company that wishes to offer online games of chance in Belgium must first obtain an offline licence and effectively operate it in the real world. Such opera- tions come with costs and investments. Given that the number of offline licences is limited (numerus clau- sus), it is not possible to apply for an offline licence when all the available offline licences are granted. That is the case, for example, with casinos (A licence) and organisers of betting (F1 licence). In these cases, the two remaining options are to acquire the licensed company or to enter into a co-operation agreement with that company. Both options are not always obvi- ous and may be costly.
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