In 2025, Denmark’s gambling regulator, Spillemyndigheden, ramped up efforts to combat unlicensed online gambling, resulting in court orders blocking 334 illegal websites aimed at Danish consumers.
Spillemyndigheden’s recently released annual report outlines the regulator's proactive approach in 2025, utilizing data analytics, public tips, and extensive searches to pinpoint illegal gambling sites. Partnering with the Danish Tax Authority’s anti-fraud unit, the effort expanded investigations into 695 potentially illegal platforms.
Of these, courts confirmed that 334 websites were providing gambling services without the necessary Danish licenses, leading to their blockage. Additionally, 36 websites opted to either modify or eliminate their gambling operations following direct intervention from the regulator.
The increase in website blocking, according to the regulator, stemmed from enhanced surveillance measures rather than a growth in the illegal gambling market itself. A detailed report regarding the effectiveness of these strategies will be published in 2026.
The report also explored how DNS-level blocking influenced user behavior, revealing that following the blockage of 178 sites in June 2025, external web traffic assessments showed a roughly 34% decline in visits over the next six months. Notably, however, some blocked domains did not experience a substantial drop in traffic.
In conjunction with these initiatives, Spillemyndigheden improved its cooperation with Teleindustrien, the trade association representing Danish internet service providers. This partnership aims to facilitate dynamic blocking of mirror or 'clone' sites without needing new court orders for each action.
Additionally, the regulator’s enforcement efforts aligned with legislative changes, particularly the “Spilpakke 1” package, approved by a wide parliamentary majority in October 2025. This legislation enhanced protections for minors and vulnerable players and empowered Spillemyndigheden to block referral websites that direct users to unlicensed operators. It also expanded prohibitions on various facilitation activities and instituted a comprehensive ban on gambling advertisements during live sports events, effective 10 minutes before and after the games.
A notable observation in the report was the shift in illegal gambling marketing tactics, now increasingly seen through mobile apps on iOS and Android platforms, along with social media and streaming services. Spillemyndigheden has formalized complaint processes with Apple and Google that expedite the removal of illicit applications from Danish app stores. Licensed operators can now directly report unauthorized uses of their brands on Meta’s platforms, which has improved the timeliness of content removal.
The changes in market retention reflect the ongoing digital transformation of Denmark’s gambling sector. In 2025, online casinos surpassed lotteries, becoming the largest segment of the gambling market. They generated a gross gambling revenue (GGR) of DKK4.31 billion, representing 38% of the total market and marking a 12.1% increase from the previous year.
Overall, online gambling continued to dominate the Danish market in 2025, accounting for 73% of the total GGR, up from 70% in 2024, and a significant increase from just 33% a decade earlier. Mobile devices emerged as the primary platform, contributing to 73% of online gambling revenue in 2025, compared to only 27% in 2012.
On the physical gambling front, Spillemyndigheden engaged in 25 investigations regarding the unlawful use or installation of gambling machines and betting terminals in 2025. Meanwhile, land-based casinos experienced a 5.6% decline in GGR, yielding DKK378 million, or 3% of the total gambling market. The newly liberalized land-based bingo made its appearance with a GGR of DKK30 million, representing less than 1%.
