Belgium’s regulator, the Commission des Jeux de Hasard (CJH), has introduced significant amendments to the 1999 Gambling Act.

Officially published in the Belgian State Gazette, the amendments aim to introduce a stricter gambling regime to the country with the goal of protecting players susceptible to gambling harm. They will come into force on the 1st of June 2024.

Under the new measures, the CJH shall meet with licence holder operators annually and discuss player protection measures. The regulator must provide a yearly update on these meetings in its annual report.

Regarding player protection, another important step towards reducing gambling harm rates is the implementation of a new minimum age of gambling. When the new changes come into force, the minimum age limit will be increased to 21 for all types of gambling, replacing the current 18 years limit for online and offline betting.

Also, some of the changes will see owners of gambling venues being required to keep up to date with the country’s Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS), a registry that includes all excluded players. Players on the EPIS list who nevertheless gamble by using another person’s ID details will be prosecuted. This also applies to the owner of the ID document and the gambling company that allows this to take place.

The EPIS registry itself will be accordingly amended to comply with the latest European GDPR rules.

Furthermore, the amendments will allow police officers and liaison officers of the Belgian Gambling Commission to require camera surveillance images from gambling establishments when deemed necessary.

Interested in a chat about how operators in Belgium and other jurisdictions manage to stay compliant with player protection rules and regulations? Speak to Mel McElhatton (melissa@chevron.group), Thees Buschmann (thees@chevron.group) and Lawrence Marchese (lawrence@chevron.group), from Chevron Group. Follow us on LinkedIn for more industry related news.

Quelle: Chevron Consultants