Belgium will enact a weekly deposit cap of €200

The Belgian government will increase the weekly maximum deposit amount for players at each authorized website to €200 (£171/$204).

On October 20, the deposit cap will become operative according to the Royal Decree, which was published in the Belgian Official Gazette.

According to the decree, each week will be calculated based on the previous seven days of activity and will move continuously. When the decree goes into effect in October, all players' limits will be reset to €200.

The rule did include a provision allowing players to ask for a higher deposit cap, though. The concerned operator must first inform the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC), who will then inquire with the National Bank of Belgium to see if the player is recorded as being in default of payment in the Central Individual Credit Register of the National Bank of Belgium.

The deposit cap may be lifted three days after the request was made, in which case the player will be able to deposit any amount with that operator even if their name is not on the list.

The BGC will continuously check on players whose deposit limits have been removed to make sure they are not in arrears. A player's weekly deposit cap will be reinstated if they are flagged.

Players may also ask for a deposit cap of less than €200, which the operator must fulfill right away. Each operator the player has an account with must receive such requests.

According to the regulator, "In order not to risk becoming a problematic gambler and to keep the game fun, it is recommended not to spend more than 5% of your income for this purpose. If you win €2,000, this means that your deposit limit should not exceed €25 per week."

The new Royal Decree follows last month's upholding of the BGC's interpretation of several rules by Belgium's Council of State, including its decision to enforce deposit limits even though the steps to raise these limits could not yet be put into action.

It did, however, remove some limitations, such as the requirement for a minimum number of self-exclusion periods.

By fLEXI tEAM