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Belgian Gaming Industry in 2022:  Impressive Growth of Offline Gambling

The Belgian Gaming Commission recently published its annual report for 2022, showing an overall positive development for the Belgian gaming industry. There was a remarkable recovery of land-based casinos to pre-coronavirus figures and a slight growth in online casinos.

Impressive Revenue 

In 2022, the Belgian gaming industry generated a gross revenue of more than €1.45 billion. This sum is divided between the online sector, accounting for 54.87%, and the land-based and retail sector, contributing 45.13%. This confirms that the online sector has overtaken the offline sector as the main pillar.

The land-based sector experienced an explosive growth of 65.74% compared to 2021, clearly indicating a strong comeback after the Covid-19 restrictions. This recovery is particularly significant as the GGR of the offline sector more than doubled compared to the previous year, returning to a level comparable to that before the pandemic. However, the growth of the online sector was limited to 2.59%, with the figure actually remaining stable.

Casinos and Gaming Halls Regain Their Players

The report emphasizes that casinos, gaming halls, and cafes have regained their pre-pandemic income levels. However, growth was more modest for betting offices and bookstores. Nearly a third of the offline GGR was generated by bingo machines and low-stakes gambling games in cafes, followed by gaming halls and betting.

Dynamics of the iGaming Sector

Online, casinos dominate with 47.31% of the online GGR, followed by gaming halls and online betting. A distribution similar to that seen in recent years.

Online gambling remains extremely popular in Belgium, despite the recovery of the offline sector after the pandemic. Belgians wagered a total of €18.2 billion online in 2022.

Despite all the commotion in recent years, there has been a strong recovery in the land-based sector combined with stable online revenue. This could be a good indicator of the impact and efficiency of all the restrictions the sector faced in 2023.

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Caroline specializes in the casino industry, where she combines a deep knowledge of the gaming sector in France with a passion for digital innovations. She explores the changes that are revolutionizing this industry, from the integration of artificial intelligence in the user experience and data analysis to blockchain technologies that strengthen the security and transparency of transactions. Curious and committed, she is particularly interested in responsible gaming solutions and new regulations, addressing topics as varied as player protection, risky behavior management, and the importance of ethical practices.

Through her in-depth and accessible articles, Caroline allows readers to better understand the trends, innovations and challenges of a constantly changing industry. She takes care to demystify new technologies and to make the link between technical advances and their concrete implications for players and operators. Her goal? To offer an informed and balanced vision of a sector in full transition, between tradition and modernity, while contributing to a dialogue around more responsible and secure gaming.

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