The Belgian Gambling Commission has released its 2024 Annual Report, detailing player activity, licence statistics, and enforcement outcomes for the year.
Player data
The report shows that Belgium recorded an average of 155,643 daily players in 2024, marking a 37.4% increase compared to 2020. Monthly active players rose by 19.8%, reaching 602,288, while 193,342 new players registered during the year – a 15% year-on-year rise. Only a small share of activity came from physical venues, with around 15,937 daily visitors at land-based casinos.
The Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS) revealed that 31.6% of registered individuals excluded themselves voluntarily, while the rest were enrolled preventively. Around 31.8% were added following legal cases, 33.6% through collective debt settlements, and 3% due to court rulings. Among the 56,458 voluntarily excluded, 12,609 were women, 38,823 were men, and 5,422 did not specify gender.
Licence data
By the end of 2024, Belgium had nine A (casino) and nine A+ licences, with Brussels Casino renewed until 2026 and Middelkerke Casino’s new venue approved.
Other categories included 175 B (gaming hall) licences, 49 B+, 4,272 C (café) licences, 8,534 D (staff) licences, and 17,519 E (suppliers) licences. Additionally, there were 408 betting agencies, 28 bookmakers, and 1,281 bookstores holding permits.
Controls and sanctions
The Commission conducted inspections on 101 unlicensed operators. Of these, 31 were inaccessible, 70 were ordered to block access for Belgian players, 19 complied, 34 were blacklisted, and 14 were reinspected. In total, 105 illegal URLs were blocked during 2024.
Six affiliates were warned to correct advertising details, with half responding.
In total, 133 sanctions were issued: 66 fines, 21 licence withdrawals, 7 suspensions, 22 warnings, and 17 unclassified cases. The total value of fines reached €4.6 million, nearly quadruple the amount issued in 2023 (€1.1 million).
