BAGO sets out its conditions for a safer market
•
4 Nov 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes Belgium’s gambling sector is at a crossroads. The recent 2024 annual report from the Gaming Commission (GC) highlights structural weaknesses, while BAGO, the association of licensed operators, is responding by calling for concerted reform.
The GC 2024 report: a wake-up call
The Gaming Commission’s 2024 annual report describes a pivotal year: new regulatory measures have come into force (on advertising, distinguishing sites and protecting players); however, the institution highlights a lack of human resources and a degree of legal uncertainty.
The GC warns that without reinforcement, the illegal offer will continue to gain ground, undermining both players and legal operators. This warning marks a turning point: regulation can no longer be satisfied with a superficial framework.
BAGO between recognition and demands
The Belgian association of licensed operators, BAGO, reacted to the report with a dual stance: on the one hand, recognising the central role of the GC in protecting players and regulating the market; on the other, demanding a clearer, more effective and better enforced framework.
Tom De Clercq, Chairman of BAGO, says:
“We hope that the announced reform of the Gambling Commission, combined with a balanced update of gambling legislation, will bring greater clarity, consistency and effectiveness to regulation and public policy. The common objective must remain to better protect players and steer them towards the legal and controlled offer.”
According to BAGO, the primary objective should not be to impose more constraints on legal operators, but to channel illegal supply.
Vice-Chairman Emmanuel Mewissen adds:
“Players who turn to unlicensed operators lose all protection. Tightening the constraints on legal operators will not solve this problem; only cooperation and rigorous application of the rules will. We want to contribute to a modern, evidence-based policy that protects legal players and keeps the Belgian market safe.”
The association is therefore calling for a constructive dialogue between public authorities, regulators and the private sector to build a modern policy based on data and cooperation.
Proposed courses of action
To meet the challenges of regulation, a number of solutions are put forward:
- Strengthen the GC: ensure a fully independent regulator with sufficient staff and a clear mandate.
- Reform legislation: simplify and clarify the rules, so that they are both robust and workable in practice.
- Prioritise enforcement rather than restriction: target illegal supply, channel rather than overload legal supply.
- Establish a permanent dialogue between the State, the regulator and operators to ensure that regulation remains relevant, based on facts and adapts to the rapid evolution of the digital market.
Belgium is clearly at a turning point in the regulation of gambling. The GC’s 2024 report is a wake-up call, but also an opportunity to rethink the legislative and operational framework for a safer, clearer and more balanced market. The call from BAGO, who knows the field well as a representative of legal operators, is simple: do not punish those who are already complying with the law, but work with them to build an effective regulatory system that responds to the digital realities, the growing supply and the changing behaviour of players.