The Belgian Gaming Authority unveiled its yearly report for 2020, demonstrating that the authority levied 55 sanctions on 23 instances in 2020 and released the overall gaming earnings (GGR) statistics for 2019.
The regulatory body stated that they had a backlog of over 100 cases potentially involving penalties at the start of the year, and added another 68 throughout the year.
However, they opted not to penalize any of the 67 cases in the backlog due to the time the cases occurred or because no breaches of gambling laws were found.
The regulatory body did impose 55 penalties on 23 different cases, with a total fine of €59,958.
The regulatory body also disclosed that the total number of licensed operators in the nation was 15,997 at the end of 2020, up from 15,607 in 2019.
A total of 4,549 new self-exclusion requests were processed, while 2,198 self-exclusion requests were lifted, bringing the total number of self-excluded players to 37,741. Another 72 players were excluded at the request of others, bringing the total to 706.
The report also displayed the total GGR of the market in 2019. Total gaming revenue from casino games rose by 16.1% to €326.5 million. Of this, €205.1 million came from the online sector and €121 million from land-based casinos.
Just a stone’s throw from the mainland, Belgium’s gaming industry is flourishing.
The nation’s nine gambling houses brought in a combined total of €47.3 million in earnings, with the Brussels gambling house leading the charge at €47.3 million, closely followed by Namur at €17.5 million.
However, online gambling is where the real money is made. Spa gambling house brought in a staggering €50.1 million, while Blankenberge came in second at €39.1 million.
Slot machines are another big moneymaker, generating a total of €297.3 million in earnings. Of that amount, €124.9 million came from online play, while the remaining €173.2 million came from brick-and-mortar gaming halls.
Sports betting is also a popular pastime in Belgium, with online revenue reaching €135.9 million and retail revenue hitting €206.8 million.
To limit excessive gambling, Belgium has implemented a mandatory weekly deposit limit of €500 for all licensed online gambling websites. This limit, which was introduced in October 2018, was initially planned to take effect at the beginning of 2019.
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