Spillemyndigheden has announced that it will take action against new gambling-related threats to the Danish economy. It is working closely with tech and social media giants on the matter.
Spillemyndigheden has released a report detailing how they will combat illegal activity in 2023. The report covers the land-based and online sectors of Denmark.
Stake.com, according to the regulator, was the most prominent operator that had been blocked in 2017. The regulator took this action after obtaining a court ruling to block 49 sites deemed illegal in the country.
Spillemyndigheden states that DNS blocking is expected to continue until 2024. Another case will be closed this year.
The regulator states that it is difficult to determine the impact of these actions, as sites were not blocked throughout the year. It presents information on the websites that were blocked previously.
According to 227 blocked sites, the number of visits dropped from 15,8 million to 1.8 millions in 2023. It is possible that some users can still bypass DNS blocking despite the 89% decrease.
There are new threats to illegal gambling
Spillemyndigheden used the report as a way to draw attention to possible threats from illegal gambling. It said that social media was used by streamers and other influencers to promote illegal sites.
The regulator first reported an illegal site in 2023. Spillemyndigheden filed a report on the streamer after they had repeatedly violated their rules.
The regulator reported that “the police assessed the streamer as having violated the Gaming Act, and the streamer received an fine.” It is the first instance we’ve reported a streaming in an illegal game dissemination case. Since then, we have reported to the police two more cases involving streamers that have advertised and disseminated games without permission.
Regulator ramps up social media outreach
Spillemyndigheden has expanded its partnerships to combat new threats. It is working closely with Facebook in order to fight illegal gambling. Spillemyndigheden also works with Apple and Google in order to remove any illegal applications from their respective App Stores and Google Play.
Spillemyndigheden stated that they are “working to increase collaboration with other media in areas where illegal gambling, or illegal distribution of gambling takes place”.
Spillemyndigheden also continues to develop national initiatives that educate players on illegal gambling. This is mainly aimed at younger players. A series of programs will run throughout 2023.
In November, a Spillemyndigheden-led study found 15% of young people in Denmark aged between 15 and 17 have gambled. In Denmark, the legal gambling age is 18
Denmark still has land-based problems
Spillemyndigheden continues to be concerned about illegal gambling online, but the issue also extends to land-based casinos.
In 2023, 34 pubs in Denmark were inspected by the Danish regulator for unlicensed gaming. Two police reports were filed over the illegal games including lottery.
Spillemyndigheden also investigated 17 gambling venues in which poker machines, betting terminals, or gaming machines were installed without the necessary permits.
Spillemyndigheden also continued to monitor illegal, non-profit lottery games. The regulator has now overseen 126 bingo and banko associations since launching its programme in 2019. This has led to the filing of 38 complaints about illegal non-profit lottery games.
