Gambling Commission publishes guidelines for license splitting

The Belgian Gaming Commission has published guidelines for the splitting of online gambling licenses. By July 1, 2024, operators must split their gambling activities based on the class of supplementary license they use.

No Combined Accounts

According to the guidelines, it is prohibited to offer online gambling under different licenses on the same website or app. Players may not play with the same account to play on platforms with different licenses.

Key Points of the Gambling Commission’s License Splitting Guidelines:

• Separate registration process per account: Players may not play with the same account on different platforms (A+, B+, or F1+).
• Conversion of existing accounts: Players must select their account type when converting. Operators may not perform automatic account registration.
• Player account: Transactions between different player accounts are prohibited.
• Spending limit permits: Existing permits are retained for converted accounts. New accounts require a new permit.
• Accounts 18-21 years old: These players can no longer play, but can manage their account or request a payout.
• Landing pages: Landing pages that navigate to different platforms are not prohibited, but the content must comply with applicable regulations.

Accounts

Existing accounts do not have to be split, but operators must give players the option to convert their account to a type that matches a single class of supplementary license.

For new accounts, it is mandatory for players to register with an account linked to a specific license.

Player account and spending limits

Transactions between different player accounts are not allowed. This means that players cannot manage money on different player accounts through one account.

Approvals to increase the spending limit that have been granted for an existing account are retained for converted accounts. For new accounts, the player must apply for a new approval.

Player tokens and age restriction

The conversion of player accounts may lead to the removal of existing player tokens and the addition of a new token. Whether players receive a new token depends on the case.

Players between the ages of 18 and 21 are no longer allowed to gamble online. However, they can still log in to the platform to request a payout or close their account.

Supervised player profiles

Operators may link accounts belonging to the same person and keep records of individuals who are overarching between different player accounts.

However, this may only be done within the limits of privacy law and may not allow players to access the gambling games themselves.

Landing pages

Landing pages that are located outside the platform and from which the player can navigate to different platforms of the same operator are not prohibited in principle. The content of these pages must comply with all applicable regulations.

For further information visit the Gambling Commision website.