Online casinos have officially eclipsed lotteries as the largest segment of Denmark's gambling sector in 2025, according to the latest annual review from the Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden). Released on Monday, the report titled Spilmarkedet i tal 2025 marks a significant change, the first of its kind since Denmark partially liberalized its gambling market in 2012.
The Danish Gambling Authority adjusted the gross gambling revenue figures to reflect 2026 price levels, which has created discrepancies in comparisons with previous reports. As such, estimates regarding unlicensed online market activities were omitted from this analysis.
When examining the performance of the market, the total gross gambling revenue for Denmark in 2025 was DKK11.5 billion ($1.75 billion), representing a slight 1% decrease, or DKK116 million, compared to 2024. When accounting for inflation and economic growth, this figure is 4.9% lower than the baseline set in 2012.
Online casinos emerged as the top performers, generating a gross revenue of DKK4.31 billion, capturing 38% of the market. This reflects a notable year-on-year increase of 12.1%, or DKK465 million, and a significant rise of 139% since 2012.
In contrast, monopoly lotteries, including Lotto, Klasselotterier, and scratch tickets, generated DKK3.49 billion, accounting for 30% of the total market. This marks a 6.2% decline, or DKK230 million, from 2024. Meanwhile, sports betting revenue fell by 11.5%, down DKK277 million to a total of DKK2.13 billion, making up 19% of the market. Revenue from slot machines decreased by 6.8% year-on-year, amounting to DKK1.18 billion, which is 10% of overall revenue.
Land-based casinos also faced challenges with a GGR of DKK378 million, down 5.6%, representing 3% of the market. Newly licensed land-based bingo made its debut with a modest GGR of DKK30 million, constituting less than 1% of the total revenue.
The dominance of online gambling continued, comprising 73% of the overall GGR in 2025, which is up from 70% in 2024 and a striking increase from 33% in 2012. Mobile platforms were particularly significant, generating 73% of online gambling revenue in 2025, compared to just 27% in 2012. Notably, 69% of online casino revenue came from mobile devices, with online slots representing a substantial 82% of the online casino GGR, totaling DKK3.54 billion.
The past year saw further expansion in the iGaming market with Digitain's entry in May. Arshak Muradyan, the group chief compliance officer at Digitain, noted that Denmark's robust compliance standards and mature gaming ecosystem are pivotal for their growth strategy in Europe.
By the end of 2025, Spillemyndigheden had issued a total of 1,970 licenses across different gambling categories, including 41 licenses for online casinos and 27 for betting, with a mix of temporary and revenue-limited permits. Furthermore, around 277 permits were sanctioned for physical slot machine operations, allowing for 23,172 machines across the country. The market also saw the introduction of 12 land-based bingo licenses following the opening of the market on January 1, 2025.
The report revealed a stark inequality among operators, where the majority reported GGR of less than DKK25 million, while several leading firms surpassed DKK100 million.
Concerns about responsible gambling emerged prominently in 2025, as the voluntary exclusion register (ROFUS) grew to 68,026 registrants, an increase of approximately 12,000 individuals from the end of 2024. Men accounted for 79% of those on the register, with 69% being under the age of 40. The helpline StopSpillet recorded a historic 727 inquiries, the highest number since its launch in 2019. Notably, 45% of callers had initiated gambling before turning 18, and issues regarding problem gambling were primarily associated with online casinos (62%) and online betting (22%). The average severity score for problem gambling stood at 5.61 on a scale from 0 to 9, indicating moderate to severe concerns.
Market trends indicated a declining lottery revenue, which fell from DKK4.83 billion in 2012 to DKK3.49 billion in 2025—a decrease of 27.7%. Sports betting revenues peaked in 2018 but remained 7.6% above the 2012 figures despite recent declines, with payout rates averaging 89.7% in 2025. Additionally, physical gambling venues continued to suffer losses, as slot machine revenue dropped approximately 60.5% since 2012, and land-based casinos saw their revenues decline around 35% due to pandemic-related closures and market disruptions from 2020 to 2022.
