Belgian licensed online gambling operators have formally adopted an enhanced Duty of Care Charter designed to deepen player protection and embed real‑time risk detection and intervention mechanisms into daily operations. The revised charter, overseen by BAGO, Belgium’s Association for Online Gambling, commits its signatories to advanced behavioural monitoring and graduated responses to problematic play.
The updated framework comes amid sustained industry pressure from regulators, trade groups and public health advocates to combat rising risks tied to unregulated gambling environments and illegal offshore offers, a trend that challenges Belgium’s regulated market and channelisation goals.
Operationalising Duty of Care With Technology and Governance
BAGO’s Duty of Care Charter, now reaffirmed by the five main domestic licence holders, goes beyond regulatory compliance to integrate technology‑driven player risk analysis directly into operator systems. At its core, the framework obliges operators to monitor behavioural indicators such as session duration, betting intensity and deposit patterns through AI‑assisted analytics, then to apply proportionate engagement measures based on assessed risk.
This evolution marks a shift from passive safeguards, such as disclosure of limits or self‑exclusion options, toward proactive detection and intervention embedded into customer care and operational processes. It also underscores Belgium’s focus on measurable outcomes rather than tick‑box compliance alone.
Key components of the renewed Duty of Care include:
- Real‑time behaviour monitoring using advanced analytics to detect early signs of harm.
- Graduated intervention protocols that scale responses from automated prompts to personalised support.
- Enhanced integration with EPIS (Exclusion of Persons Information System) to ensure exclusion orders are enforced immediately and uniformly across platforms.
- Structured internal governance with staff training and escalation procedures aligned to duty‑of‑care standards.
These measures aim to embed player protection into the operational fabric of licensed platforms, reducing reliance on after‑the‑fact self‑reporting and broadening the role of operator staff in risk mitigation.
A Growing Enforcement Landscape and Illegal Market Pressure
Belgian authorities and industry bodies have made clear that Duty of Care is a critical pillar of channelisation, the policy objective to direct consumer demand toward regulated operators and away from illegal, unlicensed markets. Industry research suggests that a significant proportion of Belgian players currently use offshore or unregulated sites, undermining consumer protection and safety standards.
The Duty of Care initiative also intersects with broader enforcement actions designed to curb unlicensed activity. Earlier this year, Belgium’s efforts to block illegal gambling platforms through coordinated measures with DNS Belgium underscored the regulatory emphasis on market integrity and consumer safeguards.
Effective channelisation is a recurring theme in Belgian policy discussions. Studies and regulatory commentary note that robust compliance, including structured care obligations, is essential to reduce migration to offshore environments that lack protective safeguards such as deposit limits, time‑out tools and integrated self‑exclusion mechanisms.
Industry Rationale and Standardisation Goals
BAGO frames the revised Duty of Care as a standard‑setting exercise intended to unify protection levels across all licensed operators. In its public statements, the association highlights that without a consistent baseline of detection systems, governance protocols and intervention practices, players may gravitate toward unlicensed services where no safety obligations exist.
The association has also signalled support for minimum protection benchmarks to avoid fragmentation among legal operators and to bolster Belgium’s controlled market approach. This echoes broader European debates around harmonising safety standards, not licences, across jurisdictions.
By tying duty of care into everyday operational responsibilities, from AI monitoring to frontline staff engagement, Belgium’s regulated market is positioning itself among the most stringently monitored responsible‑gaming regimes in Europe.
Compliance Imperatives and Strategic Outlook
The reinforced Duty of Care framework places an elevated compliance burden on operators to integrate behavioural analytics, structured escalation pathways and governance oversight into core operational systems. Unlike traditional responsible‑gaming requirements, which often centred on reactive options like self‑exclusion and deposit caps, the new approach concentrates on early identification and engagement.
Regulators and operators alike frame this shift not merely as a regulatory obligation but as a strategic necessity to maintain consumer trust, safeguard vulnerable players, and counteract the draw of unlicensed market alternatives. As the Belgian Gambling Commission continues to enforce stringent operational standards, licensed operators are expected to demonstrate measurable outcomes from duty‑of‑care practices rather than procedural compliance alone.