The Belgian Gaming Commission has announced that the country’s self-exclusion scheme, the Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS), will extend to retail betting.

EPIS identifies players who have indicated that they would like to be self-excluded from gambling and ban them from participating for a certain period of time. Previously the system was already in use at land-based casinos and slot arcades, as well as for online betting and igaming.

The BGC’s regulation on self-exclusion had previously been in the firing line from the Belgian Council of State, Belgium’s Supreme Court. The regulator had stated that operators must offer the option of temporary self-exclusion, refraining from promotional activities during the period – which must last at least six months.