Danish non-lottery gaming revenue up 6.4% in H1

A full sporting calendar helped drive Danish gaming revenue to €387m.

Denmark.- Non-lottery gross gambling revenue in Denmark reached DKK2.88bn (€387m) in the first half, up 6.4 per cent year-on-year. 

The biggest growth was in sports betting revenue, which rose 23.5 per cent year-on-year to DKK1.25bn after the cancellation of sporting events in the first half of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, online casino revenue also rose, up 16.2 per cent year-on-year to DKK1.43bn. 

Land-based revenue fell since venues remained closed for much of the first half due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With slots venues only opening in May, slot machines revenue dropped by 57.4 per cent year-on-year to DKK163m. Land-based casino revenue fell 55.5 per cent to DKK37m.

Sports betting revenue up 76.2 per cent in Q2

Sports betting saw a very different scenario in the second quarter compared to last year, up 76.2 per cent to DKK657m thanks to a full calendar after last year’s cancelled fixtures.

Land-based gaming revenue also rose after re-openings in May, with slot machine revenue up 62.5 per cent at DKK163m, and land-based casino revenue for Q2 up 122.5 per cent to DKK37m.

Meanwhile, online casino generated DKK715m in Q2, up 5.9 per cent year-on-year but not quite equalling the record DKK717m seen in Q1.

For June alone, numbers were trending down. Sports betting revenue fell 4.5 per cent month-on-month and 3.1 per cent year-on-year – despite Euro 2020. Online casino revenue saw its lowest monthly total for the year at DKK212m, although that was still 18.2 per cent higher than June 2020.

The online fall comes as slot machines generated their highest revenue since October 2020 following the re-opening of venues, rising 15.1 per cent year-on-year to DKK101m. Land-based casino revenue was also up, reaching DKK26m for the month.

See also: Danish regulator announces new bonus rule

As for lottery in Denmark, the Danish government has announced plans to merge the state-owned lottery operator Danske Spil with Danske Klasselotteri.