50,000 people place themselves on gambling blacklist

Belgium’s official gambling regulator – the Gaming Commission – has already recorded some 50,000 gamblers who have voluntarily excluded themselves from gambling on its blacklist.

In 2023, nearly some 5,964 people voluntarily excluded themselves from gambling according to the list, launched in 2004. This is slightly less than the 7,278 voluntary exclusions seen in 2022, noted the Commission, established under the Gambling Act of May 1999.

Anyone worried about gambling can fill in the form on the regulator’s website to be "denied access to class I (casinos) and class II (gambling halls) establishments and betting shops (real and online)".

The regulator added: "This can help in your struggle against addiction."

Individuals will then be put in the Commission’s Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS) and effectively banned from gambling. Their name may appear for reasons including a court decision or because their job automatically excludes them from gambling.

People who have been added to the list can also leave it and return after a three-month "cooling off" period.