Belgium set to lower weekly deposit limit to €200

The Council of Ministers in Belgium has approved a draft law to cut the weekly loss limit applied to those who wager at locally licensed betting sites. The previous deposit limit was set at €500 and is about to be lowered to €200.

The proposal was put forward by Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne. The ministers have previously discussed keeping the current limit at €500.

Stricter Regulations to Affect Licensed Bookies

Nevertheless, the council eventually decided to lower the existing limit. Therefore, the loss limits are significantly reduced. This means that players could soon lose more than €200 by betting across multiple licensed operators. On the other hand, those who opt for non-licensed betting sites in Belgium are not affected by the aforementioned betting limit.

The law also allows the Belgian Gaming Commission to ask the National Bank of Belgium if a player is known to be at fault for their debts. If the National Data Protection Authority approves the law, the Council of State also has to vote on it before it comes into effect.

Furthermore, a second proposal was submitted by Van Quickenborne, which was also approved. This proposal would see betting shops being added to EPIS, Belgium’s national exclusion register. Currently, this is used to prevent players who may have self-excluded or have been added to the exclusion list from entering casinos and slot arcades. The Council of Ministers said the register is “undoubtedly a very effective instrument in the fight against gambling addiction”.