The Belgian Gaming Commission Gives Consumers Advice on Avoiding Gambling Addiction

17.04.2020, 12:34

The Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) has recently issued advice via email to players who are stuck at home during the nation-wide lockdown. Belgium’s lockdown began on March 18th and was originally supposed to run until April 5th. However, this timeframe been extended to April 19th, and provisions are in place to prolong the closures even further. Because consumers have more time on their hands, they may access iGaming services more often and are subject to gambling-related harm. 

In the email, the BGC advised consumers to contact the SOS Jeux helpline if they believe they may have a gambling addiction. Furthermore, players should try their best to keep in contact with friends and family members via video calls or phone calls. This will help players pass the time without resorting to excessive amounts of online gambling. 

 The BGC has a leaflet on its website that contains information that consumers can use to protect themselves from gambling addiction. According to the information, consumers should do the following: 

• Set a limit on how much time and money they are willing to spend on gambling services. 
• Monitor time and money to ensure that the limits are not being broken. 
• Don’t try to recoup losses. 
• Don’t gamble away the entirety of any winnings. 
• Keep in mind that they may lose more than they end up winning. 

The leaflet also covered how a consumer can identify whether they are addicted to gambling. There was a Yes/No questionnaire that readers could fill out in order to determine if they may have a gambling problem. These questions dealt with feelings of depression, guilt, and anxiety regarding gambling, in addition to the urge to continue gambling after losing lots of money. 

The BGC provided a list of clinics that offer gambling-related rehabilitative services, along with their emails, addresses, and telephone numbers. In addition to this, the leaflet mentioned that readers could get in contact with the BGC in order to place themselves on a third-party gambling exclusion list. 

The pamphlet finished by providing an application that readers can fill out in order to be banned from all casinos and gambling halls within Belgium. If a consumer fills out the application, their personal details will be recorded in the Federal Public Service for Justice database. Anybody can choose to delete or edit their own data at any time. 

The BGC’s advisory actions followed the Commission’s election of a new president, Magistrate Magali Clavie. In addition to this new appointment, Eva De Koninck has been deemed interim director and shall assist Clavie in running the Commission.

As Clavie has taken over, new regulations to the Commission are being implemented, which is mainly due to Belgian’s state of lockdown. For instance, there is a new weekly online gambling deposit limit of EUR 500. Players can submit requests for their deposit limits to be lowered even further.