Interactive

Denmark – Denmark in full bloom as online gaming breaks new records

By Phil - 25 September 2017

Denmark’s gambling sector generated US$234.5m in the three months ending June 30, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly four per cent and establishing record earnings since the market’s online liberalisation in 2012.

Figures released by Danish regulatory body Spillemyndigheden show3ed that the increase was fuelled by new revenue records generated by online operations which reported second half revenue of DKK 458m, almost 16 per cent better than last year and 10.3 per cent better than the previous half. Slots generated over two-thirds of online casino GGR, followed by blackjack accounting for 8.4 per cent and roulette which accounted for 8.3 per cent.

Whilst online poker was down, online casino ‘single player’ games saw a year-on-year increase of 18.6 per cent. Online slots and table game revenue have more than doubled since the first quarter of 2014.
Sports betting was relatively stable at DKK 522m with land-based sports betting accounting for 23.5 per cent of the betting market with mobile coming in at 53.1 per cent and desktop at 23.5 per cent online channels. However, land-based channels continue to account for the majority (53.9%) of individual wagering transactions.

Denmark’s seven land-based casinos brought in revenues of DKK 95.4m in the second quarter, which were stable, whilst slots in restaurants and halls reported generated DKK 387m, also stable from the same period last year.

In other news Birgitte Sand, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, recently received the “Regulator of the Year 2017 – Europe” awarded by the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL).
Birgitte Sand received the award for contributing to “the high standard and regulation of the Danish gaming market and its remarkable contributions to international regulatory work.”

Birgitte Sand has been the director of the Gambling Authority since 2008 and thus stood in the forefront of the partial liberalization of the Danish gaming market, which came into force in 2012.
She emphasized that the prize is largely the Danish Gambling Authority’s profit. “I have had the great privilege of working with competent and committed colleagues in the Gambling Authority since 2008,” she said. “Together we succeeded in implementing a well-functioning gaming legislation in Denmark. Our gaming legislation and our administration of the same are often highlighted internationally and it is therefore a great pleasure for me to receive the IMGL award and thus be recognised by a significant circle within the gaming world that we so actively participate in. We always focus on achieving the best possible solutions in constructive dialogue with other authorities, gaming providers and their advisors, and I think that we are very skilled. As an authority, we constantly keep track of what is happening in the market to maintain and expand the necessary knowledge, and we therefore also go abroad to meet with providers, their advisors and other gaming authorities.”