Kansspelcommissie (KSC)

by

Adam Maclean

Established in accordance with the Gambling Act of May 7, 1999, the Kansspelcommissie, or Belgium Gaming Commission, is the official regulator for all gambling in the country. It is responsible for issuing licenses required to operate games of chance and betting, and closely monitoring operators to ensure the rules of the Gambling Act are being adhered to.

Licenses

In Belgium, companies wishing to offer online gambling services can choose from several types of license:

To operate a land based casino in Belgium, an "A" license is required. Only a maximum of 9 of these can be awarded at any one time. To be able to operate an online casino, a supplementary A+ license is further required. At the time of writing, 8 out of the 9 land-based casinos in Belgium offer online gambling services.
It is also possible for holders of a "B" license, which must be obtained to operate land based slot arcades in Belgium, to obtain a supplementary "B+" license to allow them to offer online games of chance. There can only be 180 "B" licenses granted.
There are also separate categories of license for other types of gambling, such as sports betting and racing clubs.

To obtain a license, companies must meet strict criteria set by the Gaming Commission such as providing player protection measures, and ensuring fair and responsible gaming practices.

Always Play Legally

The KSC operates an initiative called Always Play Legally in order to combat illegal gambling sites. All legitimate operators should display the Always Play Legally logo on their website, but it is also possible to check if the gambling service is on the list of legal online casinos or the list of legal online slot machine arcades to be certain.

Note:

The commission also maintains a gambling blacklist. Any site found to be operating illegally will be added to this list to inform and protect players.

Complaints and disputes

While there is no mention of dispute resolution on the KSC website, if a player has complaint regarding a casino they can contact the casino operator in accordance with the complaint procedure outlined on the casino website. Should a player wish to lodge a complaint about an online operator with the commission directly, they are welcome to do so by sending an email to info@gamingcommission.be.

Self-Exclusion

Player protection is a key objective of the KSC, and over the years, numerous amendments have been made to the regulations to enhance this goal. For example, a playing limit restriction was implemented (maximum of EUR 200 per week per player), and there is a blanket ban on bonuses. Since July 2023, all forms of advertising from gambling operators, both online and land-based, have also been banned. The only exception to this is the National Lottery.

As well as providing links and information to aid and educate people about gambling addiction, the commission also operates the Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS). This is an electronic register of of all excluded players that can be used by any gambling operator to see if a player is allowed to play.

Players can voluntarily add themselves to the list and prevent themselves from accessing any gambling services, both land-based and online.