Belgium Gambling Market Posts First Decline Since Covid

Belgium’s regulated gambling market contracted in 2024 for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, with total gross gaming revenue falling 4.86% year-on-year to €1.61 billion. The figures, published by the Belgian Gaming Commission, mark a sharp reversal after years of strong post-pandemic growth and have prompted urgent questions about where players have gone.

A Market-Wide Pullback

The Belgium gambling market decline touched almost every segment, though the scale varied significantly. Online gambling remained the larger revenue source, generating €919.1 million and representing 57.1% of total GGR. However, online revenue still dipped 2.7% compared to 2023. Land-based GGR fell harder, dropping 7.59% to €690.4 million.

Not every segment moved in the same direction. The casino sector was a rare bright spot, growing 7.32% to €638.45 million, with online casinos contributing roughly three-quarters of that total. Offline casino revenue also grew 3.7%, while online casino GGR climbed 8.7%.

The picture elsewhere was far less encouraging. Arcade licence revenues dropped 11.95% to €384.75 million, with online arcade activity falling a sharp 23.8%. Low-stakes gaming GGR declined 21.71% to €222 million, and bingo revenue in cafés fell 24.7%. Sports betting GGR slid 6.59% to €364.3 million, with offline betting hit hardest at a 13.58% drop and online betting declining a more modest 2.11%.

Betting Shops Take the Hardest Hit

Within sports betting, the offline channel suffered well beyond the headline figure. Betting shops and outlets recorded a 17.9% GGR decline, partly because the number of licensed betting locations fell from 535 to just 408 over two years. Horse racing bets fell 32.8%, and other bet types dropped 44.7%. Online betting held up comparatively well, declining only 2.11%.

Regulations Reshaping the Market

The Belgian Gaming Commission pointed directly to a series of regulatory measures introduced from 2023 onward as the primary driver of the Belgium gambling market decline. Several significant changes came into force in quick succession.

A cumulative-site ban now prohibits operators from hosting products from multiple licence categories on a single platform. That rule hit arcade licence holders particularly hard, as some operators shifted their offerings to casino or betting sites instead. A minimum gambling age increase from 18 to 21 also removed a portion of the player base entirely. On top of that, a blanket bonus ban, stricter advertising restrictions, and mandatory ID and Epis verification checks added further friction across the board.

Advertising enforcement has been active. The Commission recently opened an investigation into high-profile promotional activity involving a well-known professional footballer, signalling that scrutiny of marketing practices remains a live priority.

Growth That Took Years to Build

To understand how significant the 2024 shift is, the prior trajectory matters. Online GGR in Belgium grew roughly 60% between 2020 and 2023, including an 18% jump in 2023 alone. The Belgium gambling market decline recorded in 2024 reversed several years of momentum in a single reporting period.

The cumulative-site ban likely accelerated some of that reversal. Operators that previously combined arcade and casino or betting products under one roof had to restructure, and the resulting revenue shifts between licence categories make direct year-on-year comparisons more complicated than the headline numbers suggest.

The Question Regulators Cannot Yet Answer

Despite publishing the data, the Belgian Gaming Commission acknowledged a critical gap in its understanding. It does not yet know whether tighter rules have successfully protected players or simply pushed them toward unregulated alternatives. The regulator described research into this question as urgent.

That uncertainty matters. A Belgium gambling market decline driven entirely by reduced problem gambling would represent a policy success. A decline driven by players migrating to unlicensed offshore sites would be a different outcome entirely, and a more troubling one.

The Commission also flagged that its 2024 report was affected by delays and data summarisation issues, caused by changes to financial reporting processes and understaffing in the financial control unit. The 2025 figures are expected to be released sooner.

What Comes Next

The 2024 data captures the first full year under Belgium’s new regulatory framework. Whether the Belgium gambling market decline deepens, stabilises, or reverses will depend heavily on how operators adapt and whether the Commission gains clarity on player behaviour. The 2025 figures will be the real test of whether the market is finding a new floor or continuing to contract.

Belgium has made a clear policy choice to prioritise tighter controls over market growth. The cost of that choice is now visible in the numbers. Whether the benefits are equally measurable remains an open question.