Danish gambling revenue rises as government eyes reforms
Revenue was up by 12.8 per cent year-on-year.
Denmark.- Danish gambling revenue increased by 12.8 per cent year-on-year in July, reaching DKK634m (€84.6m). The figure was up by 8.4 per cent month-on-month following a dip in Danish gambling revenue in June.
The national regulator Spillemyndigheden reported that online casino revenue in July was DKK349m up by 20.5 per cent year-on-year. Online slots generated the lion’s share at DKK291.7m, followed by Blackjack (DKK22.2m) and roulette (DKK16.8m). The remainder was generated by bingo, poker and other online games.
Sports betting was up by 6 per cent after two months of year-on-year decline, reaching DKK159m in revenue. Almost three quarters of that was generated via mobile play while DKK28.1m came from desktop computers and DK16.8m from retail betting.
Land-based slot machines generated DKK90m, down slightly year-on-year. Just over 80 per cent was from gambling halls, while 19.9 per cent of the total came from restaurant-located machines. Land-based casino revenue was up 18.8 per cent at DK33 million, while the new land-based bingo sector generated DKK2m.
Spillemyndigheden reported that by the end of August, 62,577 people were signed up with the country’s gambling self-exclusion system ROFUS, a drop of 170 from the previous month. Some 65 per cent had chosen permanent exclusion.
The latest figures from the regulator come as parliament prepares to debate reforms to Danish gambling legislation. The minister for taxation, Rasmus Stoklund, has proposed a ‘whistle-to-whistle ban’ on gambling advertising during sports. This would likely be similar to the ban introduced voluntarily in the UK and recently proposed in France by the ANJ.
He also wants a stronger to increase funding and improve conditions for treatment centres to provide better support and more effective and targeted tools for people who have problems with gambling. The minister suggested that the gaming industry had expressed a willingness to work with parliament to address the issue.
