Survey finds overwhelming lottery domination in Belgium’s betting sector
Sciensano has revealed that lottery products overwhelmingly dominate gambling participation in Belgium, with nine out of 10 Belgian players choosing lottery games.
The findings were published as part of the public health institute’s latest Health Survey examining gambling behaviour, advertising exposure and problem gambling trends across the country.
According to the survey, lottery participation significantly outweighs engagement with other forms of gambling in Belgium, which operates one of Europe’s strictest gambling advertising regimes.
The figures also arrive amid growing debate around the structure of Belgium’s gambling advertising framework, particularly the differing treatment between private licensed operators and the National Lottery.
Since July 2023, Belgium has imposed sweeping restrictions on gambling advertising for licensed private operators, including bans across television, radio, newspapers, magazines and social media. However, lottery products remain largely exempt from many of these rules.
As a result, advertising for lottery products continues to appear widely across television, radio and digital channels despite tighter controls elsewhere in the gambling sector.
Sciensano’s further findings
The survey additionally found that 52.2% of Belgians are exposed to at least one form of gambling advertising each week, via either television, websites and/or social media.
Industry stakeholders argue that these exposure levels cannot be attributed solely to private gambling operators due to the continued visibility of lottery advertising and the presence of unlicensed gambling providers targeting Belgian consumers online.
The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) said the figures demonstrate the need for a more coherent regulatory framework covering all gambling products equally.
“Exposure to gambling advertising and sponsorship remains a real societal reality, but today it does not originate exclusively from licensed private operators,” the trade body said.
“It is also influenced by actors who fall outside the prohibition, operate under transitional regimes, or fail to comply with the rules.”
Alongside lottery participation data, Sciensano’s survey found that risky gambling behaviour in Belgium has remained stable over the past five years at 2.6%, with 0.6% of players classified as high risk for problematic gambling behaviour.
The report also highlighted that younger age groups and men are exposed to higher levels of gambling advertising, particularly through digital channels and sports-related sponsorship activity.
https://lotterydaily.com/2026/05/14/regulation/sciensano-belgium-lottery-dominance/