Belgium’s Council of Ministers have approved a new draft law that will see weekly deposit limits for online betting and casino platforms reduced to €200. The deposit limit had previously been set at €500 per week.
The new law was proposed by Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne who felt that the timing was right for stronger protection against losses for Belgian players. After much discussion, lawmakers approved the proposal and a new Royal Decree was drafted and overwhelmingly approved by the Council of Ministers.
The Belgium Gaming Commission (BGC) introduced the initial €500 weekly deposit cap in response to the global pandemic and had previously intimated that the limit would be reviewed as the government eased lockdown restrictions. However, the new law proposed by Van Quickenborne will make deposit limits a permanent restriction to safeguard against heavy losses.
The new restrictions will coincide with launch of a centralized player registry by the BGC and National Bank of Belgium (NBB) in order to protect consumers against losses by determining their ability to afford gambling.
In his proposal, Van Quickenborne also requested that Belgium update its player self-exclusion scheme (EPIS). Established in 2004, the scheme only applies to land-based gambling venues.
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