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www.euroslot-online.com BELGIUM


Population 10.8m Under 15 1.7m Aged 15-64 6.9m Urban population 97 percent Major cities Antwerp (470,000), Ghent (240,000), Charleroi (200,000) GDP per capita $37,800 Business climate Located with excellent access to many European markets, Belgium has a highly-developed, modern economy based on private enterprise. Its banking sector was severely affected by the world economic crisis. In the longer-term view, the population is ageing and there remain tensions between the French- and Flemish- speaking groups.


While the Belgian market is not a particularly large one, it is significant – as it will be the next in Europe to deal with a smoking ban, which vendors fear (probably with justification) will drastically cut revenues that have already sloped off dramatically in recent years. The industry breaks down into 19,737 AWP machines and 25,585 amusement machines, as well as 1144 jukeboxes. However, it is important to understand these labels and which machines they relate to – AWPs in the Belgian market are actually bingo machines, with two modes of play (single-ball play, where the user picks a numbered ball and hopes to match it with the machine’s random-number-generated ball, and a more recognisable traditional bingo game), while what the Belgians term amusement machines are more widely known as slots. An estimated 10,000 people are directly employed in the gaming market; that market was worth, according to Euromat figures, around ¤245m a year in 2009 (including jukeboxes). This was down from ¤328m just two years earlier; during those two years the number employed in the sector also shrank by around 3500.


Locations and licences Gaming in Belgium is restricted to casinos, gaming halls, pubs, and betting shops, as it is in most western countries with mature gaming markets. These premises must be granted a licence to operate, with operating licences classified as Class A (casino), B (arcade), C (street locations) and D (casino and arcade employee), while Class E is for the import, export and distribution of gaming equipment, and cannot be combined with A, B, or C. Arcades are at the mercy of regional authorities, as their


operating licences can be revoked on a local level. Nationwide, a total of 180 gaming hall (arcade) licences have been granted. If a new operator wants to operate, they are added to a waiting list and must wait until one of the existing 180 licences becomes available. Pubs also need a licence for gaming machines, but the number of pubs is not limited; they are only allowed two machines apiece, however. Nine casinos are allowed to operate in the entire country.


Player protection Casinos and arcades in Belgium are only open to players over the age of 21; in street locations, only players over 18 are allowed to play machines. Within arcades, the maximum hourly loss is limited to ¤25, while at street locations it is ¤12.50. No credit is allowed, and


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BELGIUM MARKET REPORT


linked jackpots (wide- or local-area progressives) are also forbidden. Machines also cannot be sited in rooms that contain ATMs.


Smoking ban As this has only been in operation since 1 July 2011, it is


impossible to say with certainty how it will affect the industry, but it is reasonable to assume that it will be deleterious. As we have seen elsewhere in the world, a smoking ban hits entertainment venues hardest of all. When a smoking ban was introduced to the Netherlands in July 2008, it contributed to more than 50 gaming businesses closing, although crippling new taxation and an economic recession were doubtless contributing factors too.


Operators The five largest operators in the market in terms of number of gaming machines are: Wimi Group – 4553 machines. Unibox-Seeben Group – 2384 machines. Tony Rus Industries – 1800 machines. Dongiovanni – 911 machines. Olympian Games – 420 machines.


Taxes Taxes vary according to the region the machine is in, and the


type of machine. Category A machines include bingo machines and “one balls”, and also amusement machines; Category B covers the same kinds of machine, but applies to machines in seasonal arcades; Category C applies to crane amusements, pinball and video jukeboxes, and Category D is for regular jukeboxes. Category E covers anything not covered by A-D. There are three regions: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. In


Flanders and Brussels, the taxes are the same for gaming machines – annually ¤1290 per machine in a gaming hall, ¤350 for pubs. In Wallonia, the taxes are variable. They rise almost 2.5 percent each year. In 2011, operators in Wallonia must pay ¤1127.04 per gaming machine installed in a gaming hall and ¤358.61 per gaming machine installed in a pub.


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