In a decisive move to bolster the security of the nation’s digital wagering landscape, Belgium’s Association for Online Gambling (BAGO) has officially unveiled a redesigned Duty of Care Charter.
This landmark initiative carries the unified commitment of five major domestic licensees: Ardent, BetFirst, Golden Palace, Napoleon, and Star Casino.
Structural Integration of Player Safety
The Charter moves beyond abstract principles, formalizing Duty of Care as a concrete operational obligation embedded directly into customer services and daily operations. BAGO membership now mandates the structural use of AI-driven systems to detect problematic behaviors, such as unusual session duration or intense deposit patterns, in real time.
Central to the framework is a graduated intervention model, ensuring that detection is followed by proportionate and timely engagement with the player. In a statement accompanying the launch, BAGO emphasized the practical nature of the commitment:
“Player protection is not an abstract principle but a concrete operational obligation, embedded in systems, training and day-to-day customer interaction.”
Reinforcing Channelization and EPIS Integration
A primary objective of the Charter is to strengthen channelization, directing consumers away from dangerous offshore competition toward a regulated ecosystem supervised by the Belgian Gambling Commission (BGC).
Licensed operators have reaffirmed their total commitment to EPIS (Exclusion of Persons Information System), guaranteeing that exclusion requests are immediately enforceable across all compliant platforms.
BAGO warns that the surge of unlicensed operators remains the greatest threat to public health:
“When players migrate to illegal sites, all safeguards disappear. There is no monitoring, no intervention and no accountability.”
Navigating a Hardened Regulatory Climate
This initiative arrives as the Belgian market faces successive years of tightened compliance, including a mandatory €200 weekly cap on online accounts. By establishing a common minimum protection baseline, BAGO aims to avoid the fragmentation of standards and safeguard the long-term credibility of the regulated market.
