Tension between the protection of online gamblers and the interests of gambling companies: The Constitutional Court rules!

In a judgment of 11 December 2025, the Constitutional Court dismissed most of the criticisms raised by companies active in the gambling sector against the law of 18 December 2024, which introduced four additional measures aimed at protecting players in games of chance (including betting).

These measures are: (1) the prohibition for online gambling operators to combine different licences on the same website and to redirect players from one site to another; (2) the minimum age requirement of 21 for all games of chance; (3) the ban on bonuses; and (4) the general prohibition of advertising.

Several companies active in the gambling sector are demanding for these measures to be cancelled.

The Court confirms the legality of these measures, which gambling operators are required to comply with, but considers it discriminatory not to provide for similar measures for certain online lottery games offered by the National Lottery. It therefore requires the legislature to remedy these discriminatory aspects no later than 31 December 2026. According to the Court, these discriminations must be corrected by the legislator: for the first measure, through an amendment to the Gambling Law; for the other measures, through an amendment to the law on the National Lottery.

For more information on this matter, please contact Jonas Deryckere (j.deryckere@athenalaw.be).