The Belgian administration is putting into practice fresh restrictions on deposits for online wagering. Every participant will be capped at a maximum deposit of €200 (£171/$204) per week for each authorized website.
This royal order has been published in the Belgian Official Gazette and will become effective on October 20th. The deposit limitations apply to all participants in all forms of gambling.
The decree specifies that the weekly cap will be calculated based on the preceding seven days of activity and will be continuously rolling. All participants’ limits will be reset to €200 when the decree comes into force in October.
However, the decree also permits participants to request an increase in their deposit limit. The relevant operators must first inform the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC), who will then inquire with the National Bank of Belgium to determine if the participant is listed as a defaulter in the central personal credit register of the National Bank of Belgium.
If the participant is not listed, the deposit limit will be removed within three days of the application being submitted, meaning that the participant will be able to deposit unlimited sums to that operator.
The BGC will continuously monitor those participants who have had their deposit limits removed to ensure that they do not default.
If a participant is marked, their regular contribution cap will be reinstated.
Participants can also ask for a contribution limit lower than €200, and operators must handle this without delay. Such requests must be directed to each operator where the participant has an account.
The governing body stated: “To avoid becoming a problematic gambler and maintain the game’s enjoyment, it is suggested not to spend more than 5% of your earnings for this purpose.” “If you win €2000, this implies your contribution limit should not surpass €25 per week.”
The new Royal Decree was released following the Belgian Council of State’s recent confirmation of the BGC’s interpretation of certain regulations, including its decision to enforce contribution limits, despite the planned measures to increase these limits not being implemented yet.
However, it also reversed some constraints, such as the restriction on the minimum self-exclusion period.
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