Belgium’s online gambling licences: why A+, B+ and F1+ start offline

Can a new operator get a Belgian online licence?

Only by first holding, or partnering with the holder of, a Belgian land-based licence. The Gaming Act of 7 May 1999 on games of chance, betting, gaming establishments and player protection, as amended in 2010 to cover online play, makes each online licence an extension of a physical casino, arcade or betting licence.

The regulator is the Gaming Commission, known as the Kansspelcommissie in Dutch and the Commission des jeux de hasard in French, which operates under the Federal Public Service Justice. It grants licences, supervises licensees, keeps the exclusion register and advises the government on reform.

The “plus” licences and the caps behind them

Belgium has three online licence classes, each tied to a land-based class. Because the land-based licences are limited in number, the online ones are too.

Belgian online licence classes (Gaming Act of 7 May 1999)

In practice, international groups have entered Belgium by acquiring or partnering with a holder of an A, B or F1 licence. Each game category must also be run on its own website: casino games, arcade games and betting can no longer be combined on one domain.

Technical and operational requirements

A Belgian licensee must host its online gambling website in a data centre in Belgium, verify every player’s identity and age, and check the exclusion register before play. These requirements come with the licence, not as optional guidance.

• EPIS: the Excluded Persons Information System lists self-excluded and administratively excluded players, and licensees check it at every access.
• Minimum age 21: since 1 September 2024, all gambling, including sports betting, is limited to players aged 21 and over.
• €200 per week: the default deposit limit is €200 per week per website. A player may lower it immediately; raising it is possible only under strict conditions, including a check with the National Bank of Belgium’s Central Individual Credit Register.
• No bonuses online: bonuses and free bets are prohibited for online play; only land-based casinos may still offer capped bonuses.
• AML/KYC: identity verification and anti-money-laundering controls under Belgian AML law.

Advertising: a general ban with narrow exceptions

The Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 introduced a near-total ban on gambling advertising, with most of it in force from July 2023. Online operators may still communicate on their own websites and social media accounts, but every message must show the minimum age, and personalised advertising and the use of real people in ads are not allowed.

Sponsorship is phased out in stages running from 2025 to 2028, starting with sports clubs and venues. For a new brand, the takeaway is that customer acquisition in Belgium runs mostly through owned channels and product quality.

Tax and fees

Gambling tax in Belgium is a regional matter, so rates depend on the region and the product. For online casino games, the Legal 500 Belgium gambling law guide (2025 edition) cites a tax of 11% on the gross margin, meaning stakes minus winnings paid out; betting and other products have their own rates.

Licensees also pay an annual contribution that funds the Gaming Commission. A Royal Decree of 11 March 2026 raised these contributions by roughly 15%, according to reporting on the decree. The Commission does not publish a single all-in price for entering the online market, and since entry normally requires acquiring or partnering with a land-based licence holder, the real cost is set by that transaction rather than by an application fee.

Game content on a Belgian site

Belgium does not run a separate supplier licence, but the games a site carries must match its licence class: casino-type content under A+, arcade-type content with lower limits under B+, and betting only under F1+. Ask any supplier which titles have been tested for Belgium, by which laboratory (GLI, BMM, iTech Labs and eCOGRA are among the names you will meet), and whether B+-compatible versions exist.

Because the law splits categories across separate websites, a Belgian group often runs two or three lobbies from one catalogue. A casino game aggregator API makes that manageable: game metadata for studio, category, currency and market lets each site show only what its licence permits, the country parameter enforces studio territory rules at launch, and a separate getGameDemo call keeps free play apart from real-money sessions. Live tables from studios such as Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live or Playtech can be routed to the A+ site through the live casino API, while the F1+ brand connects the sportsbook API over the same integration.

SoftAggregator provides one API with a seamless wallet, 40,000+ games from 200+ providers, and sites locked to EUR or multi-currency per player. The €200 weekly limit and EPIS checks stay in your platform, because the wallet debits your own balance. Catalogue and currencies change continuously; the live list is in the API.

What is changing next

Belgian gambling law is under active reform. The federal coalition agreement of 2025 announced a modernisation of the Gaming Act and a restructuring of the Gaming Commission, and a draft bill discussed in October 2025 covered a ban on gambling on credit, tighter rules for newsagent betting and an extension of the exclusion system to bars.

Recent Belgian regulatory milestones

Treat this page as general information, not legal advice; Belgian counsel should confirm the current text of each rule before you commit.

Questions operators ask about Belgium

Sources and last check

The Belgian framework is spread across a federal act, royal decrees and regional tax law. The points below were checked in September 2026 against the sources listed.

• Gaming Act of 7 May 1999 on games of chance, betting, gaming establishments and the protection of players, as amended
• Royal Decree of 27 February 2023 on advertising for games of chance
• Belgian Gaming Commission, FAQs on online gambling (€200 weekly deposit limit per website), checked September 2026
• National Bank of Belgium, news on the €200 weekly deposit limit and credit register checks
• Legal 500, Belgium gambling law country guide (2025 edition): licence classes, caps, terms, 11% online casino tax, Belgian data centre requirement
• Trade press on the minimum age of 21 (effective 1 September 2024), the October 2025 draft bill and the Royal Decree of 11 March 2026

Last reviewed: 24 September 2026.