Belgian self-exclusion numbers rise

The Belgian Justice Ministry has published figures regarding exclusion from land and online gambling sites, noting that in 2017 the number of self exclusions rose 9 percent y-o-y to reach 29,319; the statistics are not broken down into land and online exclusions.

The numbers include 409 exclusions of gamblers granted to third parties, such as family.

Belgians who wish to self exclude can do so through the Belgian Gaming Commission and are included in the national Excluded Persons Information System, referenced automatically when gamblers register to gamble at land and online sites.

The statistics reflect a far higher number of gamblers (158,413) who have been banned from gambling by the country’s judicial system under court orders.

Five years ago the numbers were:

Self-excluded: 19,670

Excluded by judicial action: 82,580

Excluded on application by a third party: 89.