Belgian Gaming Commission publishes its 2025 annual report
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16 Sep 2026 •
Reading time: 7 minutes
The Gaming Commission 2025 report reveals a stagnant Belgian market (€1.62B GGR) masking a major shift: online casinos expanded (+13%), while landbased gaming declined and new online player registrations plummeted by 43%.
The Belgian gambling market showed virtually zero growth in 2025, with total Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) plateauing at €1.62 billion. Beneath this stable total, however, lies a significant structural shift: online gambling continues to expand, while almost the entire landbased sector loses ground.
The Belgian Gaming Commission (KSC) has released its official 2025 annual report, highlighting financial performance alongside data on active players, self-exclusions, licensing, regulatory enforcement, and anti-illegal gambling efforts.
The headline metric is total Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR)—calculated as total wagers minus total payouts to players. Total GGR in 2025 reached €1,620,552,557, representing a negligible 0.07% decline from €1,621,707,086 in 2024. On paper, the Belgian regulated gambling market remained flat.
Key metrics comparing 2024 and 2025:
- Total GGR: -0.07% to €1.621 billion
- Online market: +5.41%
- Offline market: -7.17%
- Online casinos: +12.99%
- Online slot arcades: -13.66%
- Café gaming: -17.77%
- Online betting: +5.18%
- New online players: -43.1%
- Voluntary self-exclusions: up nearly 19%
Online gambling nears 60% of the Belgian market
Underneath the flat top-line figure, online and offline segments moved in opposite directions. Online GGR increased by 5.41% to €964.46 million, while revenue from physical casinos, slot arcades, cafés, and betting shops dropped 7.17% to €656.09 million.
As a result, online gambling accounted for 59.51% of the total regulated market in 2025, up from 56.42% in 2024. This trend aligns with shifts noted in previous Gaming Commission financial reports, but the divergence between online and offline is now widening significantly.
| Belgian Gambling Market | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offline GGR | €706,758,951 | €656,089,255 | -7.17% |
| Online GGR | €914,948,135 | €964,463,302 | +5.41% |
| Total GGR | €1,621,707,086 | €1,620,552,557 | -0.07% |
Note: The comparison uses revised 2024 baseline data published by the KSC in its 2025 annual report following audit adjustments.
Offline market distribution based on GGR 2026
Online market distribution based on GGR 2026
Online casinos emerge as the primary growth driver
Class A/A+ licensed casino operators experienced the strongest growth in 2025, with combined GGR rising 11.37% from €634.29 million to €706.40 million. Revenue from Belgium’s nine landbased casinos grew by 5.85% to €152.29 million, but digital channels drove the majority of growth.
GGR for online casinos holding an A+ license increased by 12.99% to €554.11 million. Online operations now account for over 78% of total casino sector revenue and represent approximately 58% of the entire online regulated market.
| Casinos (A and A+ Licences) | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landbased casinos | €143,872,788 | €152,285,430 | +5.85% |
| Online casinos | €490,418,261 | €554,113,532 | +12.99% |
| Total | €634,291,049 | €706,398,962 | +11.37% |
This revenue expansion was supported by massive online wagering volumes. A+ online casino wagers reached €17.68 billion in 2025 (including re-wagered winnings), while payouts totaled €17.13 billion, representing an average return-to-player (RTP) rate of 96.86%.
Slot arcades decline across both online and offline channels
Operators holding B/B+ licenses (slot arcades/amusement halls) saw combined GGR fall 8.90% from €384.75 million to €350.49 million. Landbased arcades dropped 4.17%, while online B+ operations fell 13.66%.
Online B+ GGR shrank from €191.97 million to €165.75 million, marking the second consecutive year of decline. Active online player accounts in this segment plummeted by 60.49%, falling from 562,837 in 2024 to 222,394 in 2025 (note that a single individual may hold accounts across multiple operators).
| Slot Arcades (B and B+ Licences) | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landbased arcades | €192,785,057 | €184,742,800 | -4.17% |
| Online arcades | €191,967,167 | €165,751,375 | -13.66% |
| Total | €384,752,225 | €350,494,175 | -8.90% |
Belgium’s 175 physical slot arcades recorded 4.61 million visits—virtually unchanged from 2024. However, average GGR per visit dropped from €42 to €40, indicating both a contracting online user base and reduced spending per visit in retail arcades.
Café gaming suffers the steepest decline
The most pronounced drop occurred in café-based gambling (bingo machines, Class IV automated games, and reduced-stake games), where combined GGR plunged 17.77% from €238.36 million to €196.01 million.
Bingo machines remain the largest sub-segment at €160.24 million despite a 16.95% revenue contraction. Class IV automated machines collapsed by 43.99%, while reduced-stake gaming GGR declined by 17.30%.
| Café Gaming | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bingo machines | €192,941,844 | €160.240,565 | -16.95% |
| Class IV automated games | €6,692,404 | €3,748,352 | -43.99% |
| Reduced-stake games | €38,723,273 | €32,022,994 | -17.30% |
| Total | €238,357,521 | €196,011,912 | -17.77% |
Despite this sharp reduction, café gaming still accounts for 30% of total retail gambling revenue, making it the largest physical segment ahead of slot arcades, landbased casinos, and retail betting.
Bookmaker growth driven strictly by online betting
Total GGR for Belgian betting operators increased by 0.92% in 2025 to €367.65 million. Here too, online performance masked landbased declines: online betting revenue grew 5.18% to €244.60 million, whereas retail betting GGR dropped 6.60% to €123.05 million.
Online betting channels now generate 66.53% of total betting revenue. Dedicated betting shops dropped 7% to €87.30 million, while newsagents recorded a 5.08% decline to €35.45 million.
| Belgian Betting Operators | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail betting | €131,741,561 | €123,049,113 | -6.60% |
| Online betting | €232,562,707 | €244,598,395 | +5.18% |
| Total | €364,304,268 | €367,647,508 | +0.92% |
Sports betting accounted for 86.30% of all betting GGR. Football dominated sports wagering with a 73.84% market share, followed by tennis (11.44%) and other sports (9.26%).
Sharp drop in new online players in 2025
Player activity metrics shifted alongside financial figures. In 2025, 528,706 individuals gambled online at least once with a licensed operator, down 12.2% from 602,288 in 2024. Conversely, average daily active online users rose slightly from 155,643 to 160,144.
The most significant drop occurred among player acquisitions. The KSC registered 110,032 new online players in 2025 compared to 193,342 in 2024—a 43.1% decline. This contraction is heavily attributed to raising the legal gambling age from 18 to 21 on September 1, 2024. In prior years, young adults aged 18–20 accounted for 30,000 to 42,000 new registrations annually.
| Player Metrics | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily active online players | 155,643 | 160,144 | +2.9% |
| Active online at least once per year | 602,288 | 528,706 | -12.2% |
| New online player registrations | 193,342 | 110,032 | -43.1% |
| Average daily retail visits | 36,470 | 27,532 | -24.5% |
The Gaming Commission warns that lower regulated activity does not necessarily indicate reduced gambling overall, raising concerns that players may be migrating to unlicensed offshore operators.
The difference between a licensed operator and an unlicensed provider is explained in the dossier on legal and illegal casinos.
Voluntary EPIS self-exclusions rise by nearly 19%
As of December 31, 2025, 66,998 people were excluded from gambling at their own request. A year earlier, that figure stood at 56,458. The number of voluntarily excluded individuals thus grew by nearly 19%. In 2025, 110,032 new online players were registered, compared to 193,342 in 2024.
Throughout the year, the Gaming Commission processed 16,358 applications for voluntary exclusion, compared to 12,509 in 2024. Nearly 76% of these applications were submitted via itsme. More information about the operation and consequences of such an exclusion can be found in the GamblingClub dossier on the Belgian EPIS list and on the official Gaming Commission page for a voluntary exclusion request.
In total, EPIS blocked 715,373 visits from excluded players in 2025. Of those, 690,074 blockages occurred online. In addition, 15,338 visits to slot arcades, 7,296 visits to betting shops, and 2,665 visits to casinos were stopped.
Over 8,500 illegal ads reported to Meta
Enforcement against illegal operators absorbed substantial regulatory resources. The KSC conducted 9,842 administrative audits in 2025 (342 on-site inspections and 9,500 remote checks). A total of 8,528 checks resulted in formal takedown notifications to Meta regarding unauthorized advertisements—including illegal operators impersonating licensed Belgian brands.
The regulator also conducted 580 checks on compliance with advertising rules, identifying 84 violations. In 38 cases, the situation was regularized following intervention; in 46 cases, a criminal report was referred to the public prosecutor’s office. The rules and restrictions are described in more detail in our overview of the Belgian ban on gambling advertising.
In 2025, the KSC also accelerated the procedure for blocking illegal websites. The Chair notes in the annual report that 370 new websites have been added to the blacklist since January 1, 2025. The enforcement chapter separately documents 160 URLs blocked via both the former and the new simplified procedures. The current situation can be found in our blacklist of illegal casinos in Belgium and on the official KSC page on illegal gambling.
Regulated market shrinks for the second consecutive year
The minor decline of 0.07% seems hardly meaningful on its own. However, it is the second consecutive year in which the GGR of licensed operators has decreased. Furthermore, behind the stable total lies an increasingly skewed market: online casinos are growing fast, while B+ providers, cafés, and almost all physical betting channels are losing market share.
According to the KSC, this trend must be interpreted with caution. Fewer registered players and fewer offline visits could indicate lower participation, but also a shift toward the black market. The regulator refers to its own research in which 28% of young people surveyed stated they had played on an illegal gambling site before.
This development comes at a time when the regulator itself is operating with limited capacity. At the end of 2025, the secretariat had 42 staff members, whereas the staffing plan anticipates 57. The KSC is therefore calling for more personnel and modern tools to better monitor both the regulated market and the fast-growing illegal digital offering.