Belgium Gaming Commission

Besides being one of the best economies in Europe and an international trading hub, Belgium also boasts a pretty large gambling scene which is strictly regulated. Online gambling has been legal in Belgium since 2002, but operators weren’t required to have a license up until 2010 and the revision of Belgium’s gambling law. That year,

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Belgium released a revised version of the Gambling Act which requires all gambling and betting operators to hold a license issued by the Belgium Gaming Commission if they want to do business in the capital of the European Union.

The act went live on January 1, 2011. Belgians enjoy gambling and betting and the country makes sure that the market is properly regulated in order to protect the players and operators as well. By rewriting the Gambling Act, Belgium put a ban on all games of chance. However, this led to an increase in illegal gambling, prompting the government to regulate the market by issuing licenses.

The ban on games of chance is still in place, with only licensed operators allowed to host games. Unlike other licenses, the Belgium license requires operators to have a land-based license and an additional license that allows them to offer online gambling.

Belgium Gaming Commission

The Belgium Gaming Commission is the highest authority for online gambling in this European country. The Commission ensures players and operators are properly protected from exploitation by issuing a gaming license which covers a variety of games. Prospective operators that want to acquire the license must have a domain ending in .BE – any operator working without a license in Belgium faces heavy fines and end of operations. Belgium has pretty strict requirements for the gaming licenses and instantly blacklists any operator whose domain doesn’t end in .BE.

Belgium Gaming Commission
Belgium Gaming Commission

Types of Belgium Gaming Licenses

The Gaming Commission offers a variety of licenses that cover all bases of gaming and even more.

  • A License
  • The A license is issued to land-based operators located in Belgium. If they want to set up an online casino, holders of the A license must apply for the A+ license, which allows online gambling.

  • B License
  • The B license is issued to operators that provide arcade games located in Belgium. Just like the previous license, if an operator wants to provide online arcade games, they must apply for a B+ license.

  • C License
  • The third license issued by the Gaming Commission is for bars that operate bingo and slot machines. All the machines must have an ID Card reader in order to prevent minors from playing.

  • E License
  • The E license is only issued to manufacturers and repairers of gaming devices.

  • F License
  • The F license is aimed at sports and horse racing bookmakers. The F+ license is for online betting operators, while the F1 and F2 licenses are issued to organizations that organize sports betting and horse racing betting.

  • G License
  • The final license issued by the Belgium Gaming Commission covers organizations that provide TV and phone betting activities.

All the licenses are issued for a limited amount of time. Class A licenses last for 15 years; B licenses are valid for 9 years; C licenses are valid for 5 years; E licenses are valid for 10 years; F licenses are valid for 9 years; G1 licenses are valid for 5 years, while the G2 licenses are only valid for a year.

Obtaining a License

Prospective gaming operators must provide the Belgium Gaming Commission with documents that proving the absence of criminal activity as well as all the documents of the company’s founders. They also need to provide the last three tax records and other documents relevant to the license the operator is applying for.

After the license has been issued, gaming operators are required to give 11% of their gross gaming revenue to Belgium. The only exclusion from this rule is horse racing, taxed 3% for domestic races and 3.7% on foreign horse races.

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