Belgium to slash weekly deposit limits from €500 to €200

The Belgium Gaming Commission has greenlit legislation to reduce current weekly mandatory deposit limits from €500 (£425.53) to €200 with effect from October 2022.

Notices have been published on the Belgium Gaming Commission’s (CJH) website and in the Belgian Official Gazette advising of the limit change based on consumer spending at licensed sites.

This is a “moving window”, meaning that the week is calculated based on the last seven days and moves continuously.

Players wishing to deposit more than €200 will need to ask their operator to increase the limit.

Operators with concerns are then required to contact the CJH, which will check if the player has a record of defaulted payments on the National Bank of Belgium Central Individual Credit Register.

If the individual is not, then they can have their limit increased after a three-day mandatory hold period.

The regulator also warns players that if their limit is removed, they will need to self-regulate their play.

The CJH will check in with the National Bank each month to see whether the players who have had their limits removed have not been registered as being in default of payment.

The regulator has said the intention of this new rule is to “prevent people in difficulty with payment from trying to solve their financial problems by gambling”.