Survey exposes gaps in Belgium’s gambling ad ban
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- A Sciensano health survey found 52.6% of Belgians were exposed to gambling advertising at least once per week in 2023–24.
- Belgium’s licensed operators face a near-total advertising ban while the National Lottery remains largely exempt from the same restrictions.
- BAGO says unlicensed operators are fuelling the exposure figures by advertising freely across social media, affiliate websites, and influencer channels.
Belgium’s trade association for licensed gambling operators, the Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO), is pressing for tougher enforcement against unlicensed platforms and uniform rules across all gambling products.
The call follows a national health survey revealing high levels of public exposure to gambling advertising, despite a near-total ban on licensed operator promotion.
Fragmented ad landscape
BAGO said Belgium’s advertising environment is “fragmented,” shaped by strict rules for licensees, a National Lottery that is “largely exempt” from those restrictions, and an “active” illegal market.
The association made its position clear in response to the most recent Health Survey by Sciensano, published in July 2025 and covering gambling habits across 2023 and 2024.
The survey found that 52.6% of Belgians were exposed to at least one form of gambling advertising per week. Television was the most common channel, cited by 51.1% of respondents, followed by websites and apps (47.3%) and social media (46.4%). Street advertising (45.2%), in-shop advertising (44.1%), newspapers and magazines (28.6%), and email or SMS (19.5%) were also recorded.
Since 2023, online gambling operators in Belgium have been prohibited from advertising on almost all platforms. Limited exceptions apply for their own websites, points of sale, and, under certain conditions, search engines.
Illegal market fills the gap
BAGO argued that the high exposure figures cannot be attributed solely to licensed private operators. The association said the illegal online market “remains outside the effective reach of Belgian advertising regulations, even though previous research indicates it represents a significant portion of online traffic.”
According to BAGO, unlicensed providers continue to reach Belgian consumers via social media, affiliate websites, influencers and other digital channels, with no age verification, EPIS checks, deposit limits, or enforceable duty of care in place.
The association noted that the 52.2% weekly exposure figure recorded by Sciensano therefore does not come solely from licensed private operators, as it also captures advertising from actors who fall outside the ban, do not comply with it, or operate under a temporary exemption.
The channelling problem has been building for some time. Belgium’s licensed market contracted in 2024 for the first time since 2020, generating €1.61bn in GGR, down 4.86% year-on-year.
Separately, Belgium’s Kansspelcommissie opened a formal investigation into an ambassador deal between Stake, an unlicensed operator in the country, and former footballer Eden Hazard earlier this year.
The survey also recorded broader playing habits. It found that 92.4% of players had engaged with lottery games at least once in the past 12 months. Betting on horse races and sporting events accounted for 8% of active players, with online casino games at 5.3%, other iGaming titles at 3.5%, and poker at 2.1%.
Calls for reform
BAGO said additional restrictions on licensees “threaten to further weaken the recognisability of the legal offering,” and called for “strengthened enforcement against illegal providers” and “coherent rules for all gambling products.”
BAGO said:
“Only within that licensed framework can player protection, age verification, EPIS, limits, monitoring and the duty of care be effectively applied and enforced. Therefore, BAGO advocates for a level playing field in which the same basic rules apply to all gambling products, and for a strengthening of the Gambling Commission so that it can take effective action against illegal providers.”
The regulator faces structural constraints of its own. As of mid-2025, the Gambling Commission was operating with just 32.8 full-time equivalent staff, well below the 57 planned for 2021–25 and far short of the 80 projected as necessary for the 2026–30 period. The body has called for greater autonomy in recruitment to meet its growing obligations.
Belgium’s Constitutional Court has also instructed legislators to resolve the disparity between the National Lottery and private operators by the end of 2026, having found that the Lottery benefits from marketing and product exemptions that create an uneven playing field, particularly in online casino and sports betting.
For licensed operators, the question of whether Belgium’s channelling policy can be restored without relaxing politically entrenched advertising restrictions is likely to define the regulatory debate in the period ahead.
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