Online slot arcades in Belgium suffer major setback 

The number of active accounts at Belgian online slot arcades fell by more than 60% in a single year. Yet the amount wagered declined only slightly, while the average gross gaming revenue per remaining player account more than doubled. 

More than 340,000 active accounts disappear 

Belgian online slot arcades had 222,394 active player accounts in 2025. A year earlier, that figure stood at 562,837. This means 340,443 accounts disappeared from the active statistics in twelve months, a decline of 60.49%. 

Under the definition used, an active player account is an account that was used at least once during the year. The sharp decline therefore does not automatically mean that all of these accounts were permanently closed or deleted. An account that was not used in 2025 is simply no longer counted as active. 

These figures also refer to accounts rather than individual players. One person can hold player accounts with several licensed operators. The decline therefore cannot be interpreted as meaning that 340,443 Belgians stopped gambling. 

The figures come from the 2025 annual report and represent one of the most striking developments in the Belgian gambling market. Our broader analysis of the annual report on the Belgian gambling market shows that the overall online sector continued to grow. 

What is an online slot arcade? 

Online slot arcades in Belgium operate under an additional B+ licence. Such a licence can only be obtained by a company that is also linked to a physical slot arcade holding a B licence. 

The B+ segment is often confused with regular online casinos, but legally there is a clear distinction. Online casinos linked to a physical casino operate under an A+ licence. Operators whose online activities are based on a slot arcade use a B+ licence. 

The type of licence determines, among other things, which games may be offered. An A+ casino generally has a broader range, including table games and live casino games. The offering on a B+ platform is more strongly focused on automated games of chance and specific online games permitted within this licensing category. 

Anyone wishing to check which licence a Belgian operator holds can consult the official licence overview of the Belgian Gaming Commission. Gambling Club also maintains an overview of all legal online casinos in Belgium, explaining the difference between A+ and B+ licences. 

Online revenue falls much less sharply 

Although the number of active player accounts fell by more than 60%, online revenue from slot arcades declined much less sharply. Gross gaming revenue, or GGR, amounted to €165.75 million in 2025. 

In 2024, GGR still stood at €191.97 million. The decline in the B+ segment was therefore limited to 13.66%, or around €26.2 million. Revenue fell substantially, but nowhere near as quickly as the number of active accounts. 

The total amount wagered also remained remarkably high. A total of €5.18 billion was wagered through online slot arcades in 2025. A year earlier, the figure was €5.38 billion. That represents a decline of just 3.64%. 

These wagering figures include both original stakes and winnings that were wagered again. The amount therefore does not represent how much money players deposited directly. The same euro can be recorded as a stake multiple times during a gaming session. 

Revenue per active account more than doubles 

Because far fewer accounts remained active while total wagering stayed relatively stable, average GGR per player account rose sharply. In 2024, an active B+ account generated an average of €341 in gross gaming revenue. In 2025, that figure reached €745. 

That is an increase of 118.52%. On average, the remaining active accounts were therefore worth more than twice as much to the sector as they had been a year earlier. This could mean that occasional players dropped away while a smaller group of regular or more intensive players remained active. 

However, the figures do not show what happened at an individual level. Averages reveal nothing about the distribution among players. A relatively small group of high-spending players can significantly increase the average, while other accounts may only be used a few times a year. 

This development makes player protection among the remaining B+ audience particularly relevant. A statutory deposit limit or personal limit can help prevent gambling expenditure from increasing unnoticed. Gambling Club explains how deposit limits at Belgian online casinos are applied and when an increase is subject to additional checks. 

A+ casinos, by contrast, grow strongly 

The decline in online slot arcades is not evidence that Belgians have stopped gambling online on a large scale. The overall Belgian online gambling market actually grew by 5.41% in 2025, reaching GGR of €964.46 million. 

A+ casinos in particular recorded strong growth. Their online GGR increased by 12.99%, from €490.42 million to €554.11 million. The number of active A+ player accounts also increased, rising from 342,844 in 2024 to 458,403 in 2025, a gain of 33.71%. 

This means the two online casino segments are moving in opposite directions. While B+ lost more than half of its active accounts, A+ gained more than 115,000. It is possible that some activity within the regulated market shifted to A+ platforms. 

However, the figures do not prove that players moved directly from a B+ site to an A+ casino. Some operators hold multiple licences and may distribute their games, accounts or activities differently across different platforms. Changes in the way accounts are reported or allocated may also have influenced the figures. 

B+ decline already began in 2024 

The downturn in online slot arcades is not new. In 2023, the B+ segment still generated online GGR of €252.01 million. In 2024, that amount fell to €191.97 million, followed by a further decline to €165.75 million in 2025. 

Over two years, the segment therefore lost more than €86 million in annual online GGR. The market is now around 34% below its 2023 level. The fall in the number of active accounts only became particularly pronounced in 2025: from 532,014 in 2023 and 562,837 in 2024 to 222,394 in 2025. 

Stricter rules may have limited opportunities to reach new players. Belgium introduced a broad ban on gambling advertising from July 2023. Bonuses and other financial incentives were also further restricted. 

For B+ platforms, the minimum age of 21 had already applied for some time. The general increase in the minimum age for other private gambling activities in September 2024 therefore does not fully explain the specific decline. However, the broader reform does show that Belgium is increasingly tightening access to gambling for people under 21. 

Physical slot arcades remain more stable 

Physical slot arcades also faced a decline, but it was much smaller. Their combined GGR fell by 4.17%, from €192.79 million in 2024 to €184.74 million in 2025. 

The number of visits remained almost stable. In 2025, 4.61 million visits were recorded, just 0.27% fewer than a year earlier. The number of unique visitors fell by 3.56% to 470,766. 

At the end of 2025, there were 175 active B licences for physical slot arcades and 48 additional B+ licences for online activities. During the year, five new B+ licences were granted, one licence was renewed and six operators voluntarily gave up their B+ licence. In addition, twelve changes of internet address were approved. 

The figures therefore do not point to a complete collapse of the sector. The physical network remained largely intact, while the online B+ segment reported fewer accounts and lower revenue. Within the combined B and B+ market, physical slot arcades were once again larger than the online branch in 2025. 

Illegal market remains out of view 

The annual figures relate exclusively to operators that work within the Belgian licensing system. Activity on foreign gambling sites without a Belgian licence is not included in the figures for active accounts, wagering or GGR. 

It is therefore not possible to determine from the B+ decline whether all of the lost activity actually disappeared from the gambling market. Some may have shifted to A+ casinos, while players may also have moved to illegal operators. The report does not provide separate player data on this. 

That distinction is important because offshore gambling sites may disregard Belgian player-protection measures. They are not automatically connected to EPIS and are not subject to the same controls on limits, gambling behaviour and payments. Gambling Club therefore explains the difference between legal and illegal gambling sites. 

The combination of far fewer accounts and sharply higher revenue per active account will be an important point of attention for the B+ sector. Anyone who notices that gambling is taking up increasing amounts of money, time or attention can obtain anonymous information and advice from De Druglijn.