SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA), Spillemyndigheden, has blocked 82 websites for operating illegal gambling services, the largest single number in its history.
This brings the total number of blocked illegal websites to 227 since the implementation of the current Gambling Act in 2012, with the latest 82 including both sports betting and casino platforms.
All the DGA’s blockings have been sanctioned by the City Court of Frederiksberg, which sanctioned a total of 55 website blocks in 2021 – the latest development demonstrates a clear ramping up of the authorities enforcements against unlicensed operators in the country.
“The Danish Gambling Authority was established to ensure the framework for a fair gambling market,” said Anders Dorph, DGA Director.
“One of our most important tasks in that context is to protect players against illegal gambling and to ensure that they are not exposed to gambling providers that do not have a licence in Denmark.
“At the same time, it is very important that we ensure that the operators who are licensed to offer gambling in Denmark can run their business under orderly conditions and therefore our work to block illegal websites is very important.”
Under current Danish gambling law, it is illegal to offer gaming services in the country without an official DGA licence, with the principle also applying to foreign operators targeting the market.
Additionally, operators are classified as targeting Danish consumers if: their products are in the Danish language, use Danish currency, accept payment cards that only work in Denmark, offer Danish customer service and connect via the Steam video game platform.
The DGA states that it will continue to monitor the gambling market for illegal activity using automated searches and following up on notifications from both Danish citizens and businesses.
Operators found to be providing a legal offering will be asked to stop – if this does not occur, the case is taken to the city court where the DGA will request legal action for Danish ISPs to remove the site.
The blocking of the 82 websites was again sanctioned by the Frederiksberg City Court on 22 September, marking the eight time that the DGA had taken its blocking cases to the legal administration.
Earlier this year, the DGA took things a step further with betting firm Tipwin, reporting the company to the police for multiple breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
However, the authority revealed today that one of the orders against Tipwin, the obligation to train staff in line with one AML law measure, has been annulled.
In lieu of this, the Spillemyndigheden has stated that its guide on prevnetative measures against money laundering and terrorist financing ‘will be adjusted in accordance with the Danish Gambling Authority’s new interpretation’.
