Belgium's regulated online gambling market grew in 2025 while its player funnel narrowed sharply. According to the annual report of the Belgian Gaming Commission (KSC), as reported by the industry Telegram channel Podslushano v gemble, licensed online operators generated €964.5 million in gross gaming revenue, up 5.4% year on year. Over the same period the number of first-time player registrations fell from 193,000 to 110,000, a drop of roughly 43%.
A denser base, not a wider one
The annual audience shrank as well: around 529,000 people played online during the year, down from 602,000 a year earlier, the report states. Yet the average number of daily active players rose 3% to 160,000. Fewer people are playing, but those who remain play more often — revenue growth is coming from the intensity of the existing base rather than from new entrants.
Land-based gambling moved in the opposite direction. The retail segment lost 7.2% of its revenue, ending the year at €656.1 million. The total market tracked by the regulator therefore stayed roughly flat at €1.62 billion, with online accounting for about 60% of the whole.
Where did the missing players go?
The KSC itself notes that the shrinking audience of legal sites may indicate that some players have moved to unlicensed operators. It presents this as a possibility rather than an established fact, and points to a survey it commissioned among 1,000 residents aged 18–30, in which 28% said they had used unlicensed platforms. The survey covers only that age group, so it says nothing about other cohorts — but it shows where the regulator is looking.
Enforcement shifts from fines to blocking
Administrative fines imposed by the KSC in 2025 totalled €81,100, compared with €4.33 million a year earlier. The regulator explains the fall as a change of approach: collecting money from foreign unlicensed operators is difficult, and in some cases it is not even possible to establish who is behind a site.
Instead, the KSC has leaned on blacklisting. In March 2025 it simplified the procedure for adding sites to its blocklist; between March and December 155 addresses were blocked under the new procedure, against five in January–March under the old one.
Resourcing is the other constraint the report is candid about. The commission's staffing plan calls for 57 employees; at year end it had 42 on the books, seven of whom were on long-term absence due to illness, traineeships and other reasons. The control unit ended the year with four staff, supported by one seconded police officer. Because of this shortage, the KSC says it has chosen to concentrate on the most significant violations.
What this means for operators
- Growth on a mature, regulated market can coexist with a shrinking acquisition funnel. Check what share of your GGR comes from players registered in the current year versus the retained base, and whether your promotional spend is priced for that split.
- Blocking has become the regulator's main tool against unlicensed sites, while fines have fallen sharply; licensed operators should expect scrutiny to focus on the most significant violations rather than on volume enforcement.
- A regulator that openly reports a staffing shortfall is not a regulator that has stopped looking — it is one that is choosing its cases. Keep compliance documentation ready for the cases that matter.