Belgium weekly loss limit to be cut to €200

A draft law to lower Belgium's weekly deposit limit from €500 to €200 has been approved by the country's Council of Ministers.

The proposal was put forward by Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, who also had a second proposal approved to add betting shops to Belgium's national exclusion register.

Under the first proposal, the loss limits imposed at the beginning of the pandemic will be sharply reduced but will remain as 'per operator' loss limits, rather than a global limit.

This means that players could rack up losses far exceeding the €200 limit, simply by betting across multiple operators.

Operators found to be violating the limits could face punishment from the Belgium Gaming Commission (BGC) and could have to return funds in excess of the limit back to customers.

The draft law would also allow the BGC to find out if a player is known to be in default on any debts.

With its passing in the Council, the proposal faces approval by the Data Protection Authority before it is sent to the Council of State which will vote on it.

Belgium has some of the strictest gambling laws in Europe. In 2018, the country banned online casino operators from advertising on TV and stated that online sportsbooks could only advertise after 8pm and never during live sports games.

All gambling operators are also required to to show warnings about problem gambling.