Belgian Gaming Commission

The Belgian Gaming Commission is a Commission for the supervision and issuance of gambling licenses in Belgium. In the area of responsibility of the Commission are all possible areas of gambling, taking into account land-based institutions and online casinos.

Regulator licensed casinos

On the official website of the Commission, players can find a list of online casinos and land-based gambling establishments that have received specialized licenses and legally provide their services in Belgium. The most famous online casinos are Pokerstars, Unibet, Ladbrokes, Bwin.

The list of online websites and their license numbers is presented in the special section of the website. There's also the section "black list" where gambling sites that illegally provide services are listed.

Belgian Gaming Commission review

The Belgian Gaming Commission was established in 1999 when the gambling and betting act was passed. The work of the authority is now fully regulated by the act.
The Commission consists of one person from the main authorities:

• President
• Health ministry
• Economy ministry
• Internal affairs ministry
• Justice department
• Ministry of finance
• Ministry of national lotteries

The Commission meets monthly.
The scope of the organization includes licensing:

• Land-based casinos
• Online casino 
• Bookmaker
• Companies that accept sports betting on the Internet 
• Placement of slot machines in bars
• Opening of slot machine halls 
• Guarantee and service of slot machines
• Casino staff training

In addition to its main tasks (issuing gambling licenses), the regulator acts as an adviser to the government in gambling matters, and issues permit for the construction and operation of buildings and structures that will include slot machine halls, bookmakers, or casinos. It also checks licensed land-based casinos and illegal clubs.

It should be noted that the Commission is very demanding about the execution of the law and constantly monitors its compliance.

For example, the Betway company, well-known in the world of online gambling in 2017, was suspected of possible money laundering, as their financial transactions were not sufficiently transparent. It is also worth considering the fact that Betway violated the procedure for obtaining a gambling license. The fact is that in order to obtain a license, the operator must cooperate with local land-based casinos, and Betway ignored this fact by obtaining a gambling license for its subsidiary.

The Belgian Gaming Commission is extremely quick to react to changes in the online gambling industry. Everyone knows that in some online games, in particular, CS: GO, you can buy random lightboxes and get a unique inventory. Such purchases the Commission equated to gambling and, according to Сasinoz are justified.

License types of Belgian Gaming Commission

The Belgian Gaming Commission has structured all types of gambling entertainment into appropriate categories, with online gambling inextricably linked to land-based casinos. Depending on your business, your company will require one or more license types:

• "Licence A" - required for the operation of land-based casinos in Belgium. An interesting fact, the number of operating institutions is strictly regulated and should not exceed nine simultaneously operating casinos. The license is valid for 15 years from the date of receipt. A Security Deposit of 250,000 Euros is required to receive it.
• "License A+" - required for online casinos in Belgium (that is, the casino can accept players from this country). You can apply for a license only if you have a "license A". The license is valid for 15 years from the date of receipt. A Security Deposit of 250,000 Euros is required to receive it.
• "Licence B" - required by operators to open offline slot machines. The license is valid for 9 years from the date of receipt. A total of 180 licenses are provided. A Security Deposit of 75,000 Euros is required to receive it.
• "Licence B+" is required for operators to open online casinos with slot machines. The license is valid for 9 years from the date of receipt. A Security Deposit of 75,000 Euros is required to receive it.
• "Licence C" is necessary for opening electronic bingo lotteries (slot machines) in bars and other drinking establishments. The owner can put no more than two machines. The license is valid for five years.
• "Licence D" - is used for casino staff (croupier, management). It is issued for a period of five years after the e-learning course. 
• "License E" - issued to service personnel and companies performing service work on slot machines. Issued for 10 years. A Security Deposit of 12,500 euros is required if no more than 50 slot machines are serviced and a Deposit of 25,000 If more.
• "License F1, F2, and F1+" - licenses are inextricably linked. F1 license allows you to organize sports sweepstakes. F2 license allows you to take bets on sports. The F1 + license allows the license holder (F1, F2) to accept bets over the Internet. The Security Deposit for obtaining a license is 10 000 Euros.
• "License G1 and G2" - are necessary for the organization of gambling by means of media. These include raffles via SMS, quizzes on the phone, etc.

The Commission is quite demanding of the initial package of documentation for applying for a gambling license. If the application is submitted by a foreign company, this list is significantly expanded.

The process of obtaining permits for the conduct and organization of gambling on the Internet does not oblige the company to open a land-based casino or slot machine hall. Moreover, it would not be realistic, given the strict restrictions on the number of gambling clubs in the country. Therefore, online casinos wishing to accept players from Belgium, can conclude an agreement with any land-based casino and obtain a license on the basis of this agreement.

Dispute resolution

The Belgian Gambling Commission pays a lot of attention not to resolving disputes with gambling establishments, but first of all, directs efforts to prevent casino games. On the official website of the Commission there is a whole section "THE PROTECTION OF THE PLAYER" it contains a large amount of information on how to get rid of gambling addiction.

Note that playing at online casinos without this license is illegal for Belgian citizens.

The player can be fined from 26 to 25 000 Euros.

If the player has difficulties with obtaining winnings from the casino or other complaints about the institution, you must send a complaint through the feedback form or send an e-mail.

Conclusion

Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) is a very demanding organization, it concerns, first of all, strict conditions for online operators wishing to provide access to games for citizens of this country. In view of this, not many online casinos have a gambling license in Belgium.