Belgium's gambling sector posted record earnings last year, as the end of Covid-19 restrictions saw many gamblers return to physical stores to place their bets.
According to a soon-to-be-published report by Belgium's Gambling Commission, which has been seen by Le Soir, Belgium's gambling sector saw its gross revenue (the difference between the total number of bets placed minus winnings paid out) soar from €1.18 billion in 2021 to €1.46 billion in 2022: an increase of nearly 25%.
Both online and offline (i.e. in-person) gambling experienced a growth in earnings. However, the increase in offline gambling was especially pronounced, with gross revenues rising by 65.7% to €658 million.
Online gambling saw a more modest increase in revenue but nevertheless remained the most popular form of gambling overall, with sales growing just 2.56% to €800 million.
'I did not expect this'
The similar size of the online and offline gambling markets surprised Gambling Commission President Magali Clavie.
"For the first time, we are witnessing a near-equality between the two sectors," she said. "However, I did not expect a stagnation of the online market, which surprised me. We will have to see in the next few years if this is confirmed."
Although the study did not report on revenue data for 2023, it did note that there has been a significant rise over the past year in the daily average number of gamblers, from 141,000 in 2022 to 150,000 in 2023: an increase of 6.4%. The number of players has almost tripled since 2018, when only 63,000 people gambled on a given day.
The latest data also means that the number of active players has increased every year since 2018. By contrast, the gambling industry's gross revenue has risen every year except for a Covid-induced decline from 2019 to 2020, when earnings dropped from €1.18 billion to €969 million.
A young buck's game
Gambling remains especially popular among young people. Another recent study revealed that 53% of people aged between 18 and 30 have gambled at least once in the past three years, with the figure rising to 65% among men specifically.
More worryingly, the study also found that, among young adults who have gambled recently, 13% say that they play every day – which, in turn, suggests that many young Belgians could be suffering from a full-scale gambling addiction.
Belgium's Federal Government is becoming increasingly concerned about this problem. On 1 July this year, the 'Vivaldi' coalition imposed sharp restrictions on gambling advertising, with then Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne claiming that the new rules were "necessary to combat the normalisation and trivialisation of gambling."
"The government is deeply concerned about the huge amounts of gambling advertising that society faces," Van Quickenborne added. "And for those who want to escape their gambling addiction, the tsunami of advertising is an additional problem."
For anyone struggling, SOS GAMBLING is a free helpline for you, your family or friends. You can reach them 24/7 by phone on 0800 35 777. Find more information here.
