The Belgian Gaming Authority unveiled statistics indicating that the regulated gambling market’s earnings experienced a 17.8% decrease year-over-year, reaching €969.1 million (£825.7 million/$1.04 billion) in the 2020-21 financial period.
This figure represents a decline from €1.18 billion in the 2019-20 financial period and €1.12 billion in the 2018-19 financial period.
Online gambling earnings constituted €595.6 million of the total, marking a 27.9% increase from the preceding year, while land-based gambling earnings dropped by 47.7% to €373.2 million.
This marks the first instance where online gambling earnings have surpassed land-based gambling earnings, with online accounting for 61.5% and land-based accounting for 38.5%.
Delving deeper into the annual performance, online casino earnings reached €277.9 million, representing 46.6% of total online earnings for the year. Online slot hall earnings amounted to €156.8 million, a 26.3% year-over-year increase, while sports betting earnings surged 27.1% to €161.2 million.
The downturn in the brick-and-mortar gambling sector is a result of actions taken by the Belgian administration to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, which have had a negative impact on physical gambling establishments such as casinos, amusement centers, and wagering shops.
Physical sports wagering is the primary source of income for the market, generating €123.6 million, representing 33.1% of all retail revenue. Cafes generated €113.7 million, accounting for 30.5% of the market share, while amusement centers generated €81.1 million (21.7%), and casinos generated €54.9 million (14.7%).
Additional key data in the report indicates that in 2021, the number of consumers who gambled online at least once a week rose from 502,738 in 2019-20 to 576,493. The average number of unique players on authorized websites also increased from 113,302 the previous year to 136,888.
During the year, a total of 162,985 new players registered for online gambling.
In contrast, the number of visitors to physical stores decreased from 11,167 to 10,684, a figure that is also significantly lower than the 15,710 recorded before the onset of the pandemic in 2019-20.
Furthermore, it was revealed that 122 websites of illicit operators were added to the Belgian blacklist, while 60 websites voluntarily blocked access to Belgian players.
“The year 2021 was characterized by the ongoing health crisis and subsequent closures, which once again severely impacted physical gambling venues, whose gross margin had already declined by 47% in 2020,” stated Margaret Clavey, President of the Belgian Gaming Commission.
“Online gambling has indeed experienced growth.”
During 2021, an average of one hundred thirty-six thousand, eight hundred eighty-eight players were present online each day, a doubling of the figure from three years prior. This type of wagering is now larger than traditional gambling houses for the first time, as it is more accessible, both in terms of location and time of play. This could be risky for some individuals, so it is something that we must be cautious about.
Therefore, it is more crucial than ever to ensure the safety of players by providing them with a secure and regulated environment to participate in.
We must make every effort to prevent individuals from utilizing illicit gambling websites, which are often hazardous and do not adhere to regulations.
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