Denmark to pump €4m into problem gambling treatment over three-year period

The Danish government has announced plans for annual funding of DKK 10m (€1.3m) between 2023-2025 into problem gambling research and treatment, citing a ‘worrying’ increase in problem gambling rates in the country.

Totalling DKK 30m (€4m) over the three-year period, the initial focus of the funding will be on research into gambling addiction and ‘targeting information’ towards children and young people.

The government was prompted to coordinate the funds after viewing figures from the Spillemyndigheden, the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA), which assessed that ‘almost 500,000 have some degree of gambling problems’.

“The development we are seeing in the gaming area is very worrying,” said Jeppe Bruus, Denmark’s Minister for Taxation.

“Gambling addiction can have major and long-lasting consequences for those involved, and we have a special obligation to protect children and young people and other vulnerable groups. 

“Therefore, there is a need for us to both strengthen information efforts towards children and young people and research into gambling addiction. And I am happy that we are now adding more resources to the effort.”

A breakdown of 2023 funding activity will see DKK 5m (€691,000) funnelled towards research into gambling addiction and treatment, with the Ministry of Health having opened an application pool for interested researchers. 

A nationwide campaign on gambling, with a focus on young people and children – and their parents – will be backed with DKK 2.5m (€335,500), whilst an additional DKK 1.5m (€201,276) will be used to fund development of a national platform for information on gambling addiction.

Lastly, Danish authorities will channel DKK 1m (€134,184) for the DGA to participate in a joint-study with other Nordic regulators to achieve a ‘comparable basis’ for the spread of gambling addiction across the region.

The Tax Ministry has noted, however, that this will require other Nordic countries to also allocate funds to the project. If this is not achieved, the DKK 1m will be redirected towards the national campaign.

The Danish government and Spillemyndigheden may be in luck as other Nordic gambling regulators, such as Norway’s Lottstift and Sweden’s Spelinspektionen, have become more alert to problem gambling and particularly to black market threats over the past year.

Meanwhile, the Finnish government has become interested in taking inspiration from other countries on regulatory and licensing matters, as it examines an overhaul of its existing state-backed monopoly system.