Belgium has introduced a new regulatory framework for betting in betting-enabled newsagents, restoring rules governing Class F2 licensees following a legal gap that had prevented the Belgian Gambling Commission from processing licence applications and renewals.
The Royal Decree limits betting-enabled newsagents to four betting terminals or computer applications and permits bets between 6am and 8pm. Annual stakes cannot exceed €250,000 ($295,000), while betting may account for no more than 20% of a betting-enabled newsagents' annual turnover.
The restrictions are intended to keep betting as an ancillary activity rather than allowing licensed betting-enabled newsagents to operate primarily as betting agencies.
The Government said the previous lack of clearly defined boundaries had contributed to the emergence of "fake betting-enabled newsagents", which offered betting services while avoiding restrictions applying to dedicated betting agencies.
The framework follows a January 2026 ruling by Belgium's Council of State, which annulled the February 2022 Royal Decree after finding that some conditions went beyond the authority provided by the Gambling Law.
The Gambling Commission subsequently suspended the processing of new and renewed betting-enabled newsagents betting licences because it lacked a valid legal basis to determine what constituted an ancillary betting activity.
The new decree also increases municipal involvement. Class F2 applications must include an opinion from the relevant mayor, while renewal applications require accounting documents demonstrating compliance with the 20% turnover threshold.
New licensees must report the proportion of turnover generated by betting after their first 12-month period.
Advertising restrictions have also been restored. Betting-related advertising inside bookshops and facing the street may occupy no more than one-fifth of the relevant advertising space and is capped at three square metres.
The changes come during a broader restructuring of Belgian gambling oversight. A law adopted in April transferred responsibility for gambling from the Federal Public Service Justice to the Federal Public Service Economy, with the transfer taking effect on 1 June.
Belgium also prohibits people under 21 from participating in online gambling and betting.
Earlier this year, Belgium approved the transfer of the Gambling Commission to the Ministry of Economy, giving municipalities greater involvement in gambling licensing while placing increased emphasis on illegal gambling enforcement.
The new Royal Decree is temporary and will cease to apply on 31 December 2028, with an evaluation planned before its expiry
