Belgium Gaming License

Who regulates gambling in Belgium?

The Belgian Gaming Commission regulates gambling in Belgium under the Gambling Act of 7 May 1999. The Commission is known as Kansspelcommissie in Dutch and Commission des jeux de hasard in French, abbreviated CJH. The Commission issues and withdraws licenses, supervises operators, maintains the EPIS exclusion register, and publishes the blacklist of unlicensed sites.

Belgian gambling law sits in criminal law. Operating games of chance without a license from the Belgian Gaming Commission is a criminal offence under the Gambling Act, not an administrative breach.

The Commission is funded entirely by license holders through an annual contribution set each year by Royal Decree. The Royal Decree setting the 2026 contributions was signed by five federal ministers: Economy, Public Health, Finance, Justice and the Interior.

What license classes exist in Belgium?

Belgium issues eleven license classes tied to a specific activity and venue type. Class A covers casinos, class B gaming arcades, class C bars, class D staff, class E suppliers, and the F classes cover betting. Each online class (A+, B+, F1+) exists only as an add-on to its land-based parent.

The G1 and G2 media game licenses no longer exist. The Act of 18 January 2024 removed the license requirement for media games, and the 2026 contribution decree no longer lists either class.

The caps matter more than the fees. With 9 Belgian casino licenses and 30 Belgian betting licenses in the whole country, availability of an anchor license, not eligibility, is often what decides whether a Belgian route is open.

Can you get a Belgian online gambling license without a land-based presence?

No. Belgian online licenses A+, B+ and F1+ are supplementary licenses, available only to holders of the matching land-based license A, B or F1. An online-only applicant cannot hold a Belgian online license. The website must also run on a server located in Belgium.

The land-based anchor is the single most important fact about the Belgian market, and the point most jurisdiction comparisons get wrong. The online license is not a separate product. It attaches to a land-based license, and it runs for the same term as its parent.

An online license also covers only games of the same nature as those offered offline. A class A+ holder offers casino games because the parent class A license is a Belgian casino license.

A foreign operator therefore enters Belgium commercially rather than through a direct online application: alongside a Belgian land-based license holder, or as an E license supplier. Both routes still need an EU or EEA applying entity. Ask us which route fits.

Who can apply for a Belgium gaming license?

Only EU citizens and companies registered in the EU or EEA can apply for a Belgian A, B, E, F1 or F1P license. Applicants must show solvency, confirmed by a Belgian auditor, clean criminal records for directors and managers, and full disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners.

Land-based classes add a local layer:

• A gaming arcade needs an agreement with the municipality where it operates

• A casino needs a concession from the municipality, and only nine exist nationally

There is no Belgian residency test for the applicant company itself, but the EU or EEA registration requirement is hard. A Curaçao, Anjouan or Costa Rica entity cannot hold a Belgian license.

How much does a Belgium gaming license cost?

Belgium charges no application fee. Costs come in two forms: a guarantee deposit of €250,000, €75,000 or €10,000 by class, and an annual contribution to the Gaming Commission set each year by Royal Decree. For 2026 the contribution runs from €865 to €25,398 before per-device amounts, raised 15% by the Royal Decree of 11 March 2026.

Source: Royal Decree of 11 March 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 13 March 2026, effective from 1 January 2026.

Two figures are easy to confuse. The guarantee deposit is capital lodged with the Deposits and Consignments Fund. The annual contribution is a cost, payable once per calendar year by holders of class A, A+, B, B+, E, F1 and F1+ licenses regardless of how long they actually trade that year, while class C and F2 holders pay once before the license is granted. A holder of both a class A and a class A+ license pays the contribution on each license.

The Commission's spending ceiling for 2026 is estimated at €9,180,000, and contributions had not been indexed or raised since 2018.

Commercial costs sit outside the regulator's schedule: the entity, the municipal agreement, audit, AML build, EPIS and platform work. Get a scoped quote for your profile.

What taxes apply to Belgium gaming licenses?

Belgian gambling tax is regional, not federal. Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region each set rates by product. Online games and betting are taxed at 11% of the actual gross margin realised in all three regions. Betting is taxed at 15% on gross margin or stakes in Flanders and Brussels, and 11% on gross margin in Wallonia.

Calling 11% a competitive rate misreads the market. The rate applies inside a closed market with a land-based anchor, near-total advertising ban and a ban on bonuses, so acquisition costs weigh far more heavily than the headline tax suggests.

Regional gaming taxes are also not deductible as business expenses. The Constitutional Court dismissed challenges to that rule, introduced by the Law of 28 December 2023, in its judgment of 23 October 2025.

Players are generally not taxed on winnings from licensed operators. Professional gambling can be assessed as income, which is a personal tax question rather than an operator obligation.

What are the key gambling rules in Belgium (age, advertising, bonuses)?

Four rules shape Belgian commercial reality: a minimum age of 21 for all gambling, a near-total advertising ban, a ban on bonuses and free play, and a €200 weekly deposit limit per account. Few regulated European markets restrict player acquisition this tightly.

Minimum age 21. The Law of 18 February 2024 standardised the minimum gambling age at 21 across all games of chance and betting from 1 September 2024, implemented by the Royal Decree of 12 August 2024. Betting previously opened at 18, while casino games and slots were already restricted to 21. National Lottery products remain outside this rule.

Advertising. The Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 bans advertising for games of chance in principle, in force since 1 July 2023, with narrow carve-outs including B2B communications, operator websites and official channels. Stadium advertising has been banned since 1 January 2025, and gambling logos are limited to the sportswear of players over 21, capped at 75 cm² and barred from the front of the shirt. That transitional regime runs until 31 December 2027, and shirt sponsorship for professional clubs ends on 1 January 2028.

Bonuses and incentives. Free play, gaming credits and any incentive designed to influence player behaviour are banned for online operators.

Deposit limit. The Royal Decree of 19 June 2022 cut the weekly deposit limit to €200 per account on each gambling website, in force since 20 October 2022. Players can request a higher limit, and the Gaming Commission then consults the Central Individual Credit Register within three working days and authorises the increase if the player is not registered as a defaulter.

Separate websites per license. Different categories of games of chance cannot be offered on the same website, and split accounts and transfers between licenses are banned. The Constitutional Court annulled that platform split in judgment 165/2025 because it left comparable National Lottery products untouched, but deferred the annulment to 31 December 2026, so the obligation still stands until then. The minimum age, advertising ban and incentive ban were not annulled.

How is offshore or unlicensed gambling treated in Belgium?

A license from another country gives no right to serve Belgian residents. Only a Belgian license issued by the Belgian Gaming Commission permits it. The Commission publishes a blacklist of unlicensed gambling URLs in the Belgian Official Gazette, and internet service providers must block listed sites.

The Act of 7 May 2024 sharpened enforcement:

• The president of the Brussels Enterprise Court can issue ex parte cease-and-desist orders against operators

• The same orders reach intermediaries, not only operators

• Orders have reached large technology platforms including Meta, Google and Apple

Operating without a Belgian license is a criminal matter under the Gambling Act of 7 May 1999. Treating an offshore license as a soft route into Belgium exposes the operator to criminal enforcement and to blocking orders that also reach its intermediaries.

What are the advantages of a Belgium gaming license?

Belgium offers long license terms, a capped and therefore protected market, and player trust built on strict supervision. Class A licenses run 15 years, class B and F1 licenses 9 years. Enforcement against unlicensed competitors is active, which protects the operators inside the market.

• Long terms. 15 years for class A, 9 years for class B and F1, so renewal cycles are rare.

• Protected market. Caps of 9 Belgian casino and 30 Belgian betting licenses limit new competition.

• Active enforcement. The blacklist and court injunctions push unlicensed supply out of the market.

• Player trust. EPIS, age-21 checks and deposit limits are visible to players and support long-term retention.

• No application fee. Entry cost is a lodged deposit rather than an application charge.

• Banking credibility. An EU regulated license carries more weight with banks and payment providers than an offshore license.

What are the disadvantages of a Belgium gaming license?

Belgium is a hard market to enter. Online licenses require a land-based license, applicants must be EU or EEA companies, the guarantee deposit reaches €250,000, and near-total advertising and bonus bans make player acquisition expensive. Regional tax rules and banking de-risking add further cost.

• Land-based anchor. No online license without the matching land-based license, and land-based licenses are capped.

• EU or EEA applicants only. Offshore entities are excluded from applying.

• High deposit. €250,000 for class A and A+, €75,000 for class B, B+ and F1+.

• Marketing constraints. Near-total advertising ban plus a bonus ban removes the standard acquisition toolkit.

• Regional tax complexity. Three regions, product-specific rates, and non-deductible gaming taxes.

• No EU passport. A Belgian license serves Belgium only.

• Regulatory movement. The platform split annulment runs to 31 December 2026, so rules are still changing.

Why choose MGL Solutions for Belgium?

MGL Solutions has obtained 300+ licenses for operators across offshore, onshore and EU jurisdictions. On Belgium the honest scope is narrower than a turnkey license: MGL handles the E supplier license, structures commercial arrangements with Belgian land-based license holders, and delivers the corporate, AML and compliance work behind an application.

What MGL does on Belgium:

• E license applications for suppliers to Belgian licensed operators

• Structuring an entry alongside an existing Belgian A, B or F1 license holder

• EU or EEA entity setup and corporate structuring for the applying company

• AML, KYC and responsible gambling documentation for the Gaming Commission

• Solvency and beneficial ownership files, with Belgian audit coordination

• Assessment of whether Belgium is the right market for your product, or whether another license serves you better

What MGL does not claim: there is no turnkey, online-only Belgian license to sell. Any adviser offering one has misread the Gambling Act. Book a Belgium assessment.

How does Belgium compare with other gaming licenses?

Belgium is a domestic EU market with a land-based anchor, so it is not comparable to an offshore license on cost alone. Malta offers EU credibility with an open application route. Curaçao and Anjouan offer speed and zero gaming tax without EU standing. Route choice follows the target market, not the fee.

Compare every route we handle against Belgium on our gambling license hub before committing to a jurisdiction.