Don’t bet on it in Denmark

A Naestved court recently ruled in favour of the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) by issuing a court order to block 83 illegal gambling websites.  

Most offered conventional casino games including roulette, slot machines and poker, as well as facilities for laying bets. Practically all provided “skin gambling”, using virtual items from computer games like in-game currencies or prizes.
Since 2012, when Denmark’s gambling sector was partly liberalised, the DGA has now blocked illegal websites on 10 occasions as it steps up its efforts to block unlicensed sites.

Closing down a site has to be done through the courts and the gambling regulator has succeeded in taking down 358 sites since 2012, with 82 websites blocked in 2023.

“We have intensified our work on shutting down the illegal sites, so that we now get them blocked twice a year instead of once, as previously,” said the DGA’s director Anders Dorph who expects even more closures throughout 2024.

“This way, we can get hold of more sites and minimise the period when Danish players are exposed to games offered illegally in this country,” Dorph continued, who said that children and the young were particularly vulnerable.

“For instance, many of the illegal websites have very lenient requirements for age verification and offer games like skin gambling which particularly appeals to children and young people.”

Dorph went on to say that the DGA constantly monitors the gambling market to detect unlicensed sites using automated searches, although it also follows up on reports from private individuals and businesses.

Once the DGA discovers an unauthorised gambling site, the owners are informed that they are infringing the law and asked to stop.  If they do not comply, the regulator then asks a district court to order the site’s internet providers to block the illegal web pages.