Danske Spel welcomes new Danish gambling advertising rules
The government has announced proposals for new advertising rules for the Danish gambling sector by 2027.
Denmark.- The state-controlled gambling operator Danske Spil has welcomed the government’s announcement of new rules for gambling advertising. It says it fully supports the reformed outline in Denmark’s Gaming Package 1, which include a whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling ads during sports broadcasts.
In changes to the country’s Marketing and Advertising Law, the whistle-to-whistle ban will start 10 minutes before and end 10 minutes after live sports. There will also be a ban on the display of live odds on stadium banners, restrictions on the use of celebrities and influencers and a ban on gambling ads on public transport and near schools.
Meanwhile, gambling ads will be prohibited within 200 metres of school buildings, and the Gambling Act will be amended to require age filters on social media ads. The use of anyone aged under 25s in gambling ads will be prohibited, and educational institutions will be required to block access to gambling websites. A committee will be tasked with drafting regulations for gaming influencers on streaming platforms like Twitch.
Other new rules will include the prohibition of “free money games” as welcome bonuses.
Danske Spil CEO Nikolas Lyhne-Knudsen said the reforms were a “a necessary and responsible move for the future of Denmark’s gambling market” and noted that the operator already imposed some of the measures on a voluntary basis.
“It is both good and important that this new agreement raises the bar for responsibility,” he said. “The ambition to protect our young people is one we share and that we have already made a special effort toward. Danske Spil has taken the lead in making the gambling market more responsible, and we already have experience with several of the initiatives now included in the agreement.
“For many years, we have voluntarily implemented a whistle-to-whistle ban and do not advertise live odds on either TV or stadium billboards.”
Many of the reforms were proposed by former tax minister Rasmus Stoklund amid mounting public concerns over gambling marketing. Oversight now falls to his successor Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, who described the package as “a significant first step to protect children and young people in particular from gambling problems and an overly aggressive gambling market”.
The Danish gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden will be responsible for enforcing the new rules. Its powers will be expanded to include blocking unlicensed operators and penalising advertisers who fail to comply. Full enforcement is scheduled to begin on January 1 2027.
