Belgian Operators to Challenge New Weekly Deposit Limit

Belgium’s online gambling operators are preparing to challenge the decision by the Belgian Gambling Commission to enforce a weekly deposit cap of €500 per client on all Belgian-licensed platforms. The Belgian Association of Gambling Operators (BAGO) has publicly expressed its dissatisfaction with the Commission’s decision.

BAGO members expect to appeal this new restriction, which can be further decreased at the request of a customer but can in no circumstances be removed, irrespective of whether a customer can show sufficient financial ability to justify the higher expenditure.

Emmanuel Mewissen, Ardent Group’s BAGO president and CEO, says Belgian-licensed operators were furious at the BGC for moving the goalposts unilaterally without consulting its licensees. As a result, BAGO expects to lodge an appeal with the Belgian Council of State about the deposit cap.

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Mewissen cautioned that the BGC’s attempts to protect underage gamblers would backfire by pushing clients to move to globally approved gaming outlets, whose standards and procedures are beyond the BGC’s compliance mechanisms.

Minister of Justice Koen Geens said that there has been a 38% decrease in local online gambling since the pandemic took hold, while the National Lottery has seen its sales drop by 30%.

Geens attributed some of this downturn to the suspension of most major sports league action, but also “because in the current anxiety-provoking climate, people are losing confidence and playing less.”