Open licensing, split by function
Alderney
A Channel Island jurisdiction whose licence separates the customer relationship from the platform operation.
Licensed online casino
Belgium
Online licences exist only as supplements to land-based licences, and advertising is prohibited.
| Product | Position | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino | Tied to land-based | An online licence is available only to the holder of a corresponding land-based licence. |
| Sports betting | Tied to land-based | An online licence is available only to the holder of a corresponding land-based licence. |
| Online poker | Tied to land-based | An online licence is available only to the holder of a corresponding land-based licence. |
| Lottery | State monopoly | Reserved to a state or state-controlled operator; no commercial licence is available. |
How the market works
A Belgian online licence carries a plus sign because it supplements a land-based one: A+ for online casino, B+ for online arcade games, F1+ for online betting. Only the holder of the underlying land-based licence can hold the online supplement, and the number of land-based licences is capped by law. Entering Belgium therefore means acquiring, or partnering with, an existing licence holder.
Belgium has gone further than almost any other European market on advertising, with a general prohibition in force since 2023 and only narrow transitional arrangements for sport. The minimum age for betting and casino products has been raised to 21, and default deposit limits apply unless a customer passes further checks.
The EPIS register covers more than voluntary self-exclusion: certain categories of person are barred by law and must be screened out, which makes identity checking at registration unavoidable rather than risk-based.
Who regulates it
Gaming Commission (BGC), based in Brussels and operating under Gaming Act of 7 May 1999, as amended. The Belgian commission, where an online licence must be attached to an existing land-based licence.
Licence types issued
- A+ online casino
- B+ online gaming arcade
- F1+ online betting
Questions about Belgium
Other markets in Europe
Open licensing per game type
Czechia
A licensed market with a mandatory central exclusion register that covers more than self-exclusion.
Licensed online casino
Open licensing
Denmark
An early licensing regime whose certification programme and exclusion register were widely copied.
Licensed online casino
Monopoly, with licensing legislated for 2027
Finland
One of Europe's last gambling monopolies, legislated to open to licensed competition from 2027.
State monopoly online casino
Open licensing, three verticals only
France
The largest European economy with no legal online casino: only betting, horse racing and poker can be licensed.
Prohibited online casino
Open licensing, with online table games excluded
Germany
Europe's largest economy licenses online slots and poker but not online table games, and taxes stakes rather than revenue.
Partly restricted online casino
Background reading
Legal and compliance
What a gaming licence actually covers
A licence is not a badge of quality and it is not valid everywhere. What it authorises, who it binds, and why one company often holds a dozen.
Legal and compliance
How gambling is taxed, and why the base matters
A tax on stakes and a tax on gross gaming revenue can carry the same headline number and produce completely different businesses.
Legal and compliance
How a company enters a new market
The sequence from legal assessment to launch, and the parts that routinely take longer than anyone plans for.
Legal and compliance
What grey and black markets actually mean
The industry uses three words for the legal status of a market and rarely defines them. Here is what each one means in practice.