Denmark’s state-owned gambling operator sees revenue rise in Q1
Lottery and online gambling growth outpaced the decline in land-based slots.
Denmark.- Danske Spil has reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of DKK 1.3bn (£174.2m) for the first quarter of 2025. That represents a rise of 2.5 per cent year-on-year for the state-owned gambing operator.
The core monopoly lottery business Danske Lotteri Spil saw revenue rise by 3.1 per cent to DKK 733m, while the competitive online gambling and sports betting business Danske Licens Spil saw a more modest rise of 0.7 per cent to DKK 396m. The legacy Danske Klasselotteri lottery generated DKK 75m
As for land-based slots operations, Elite Gaming venues contributed DKK 71m, which represents a drop of of 5.3 per cent year-on-year.
At DKK 500m, net income for Q1 was down by 2 per cent year on year despite the rise in GGR. That’s because of the one-off financial gain from its sale of the fantasy sports platform Swush in the corresponding quarter in 2024.
In its report, Danske Spil stressed its focus on promoting responsible gambling, noting its Play with Care campaign, which provides information and resources about safe gambling practices.
As for the Danish gambling market as a whole, the regulator Spillemyndigheden reported that Danish gambling revenue rose by 11.6 per cent year-on-year in April to DKK665m (€89m), up 4.7 per cent month-on-month.
Online casino generated DKK331m (€44.4m) of that, rising by 21.4 per cent from April 2024 and reaching the highest level since the record DKK347m reported in December 2024. Slots represented 78.9 per cent of all online casino revenue, followed by blackjack (6.6 per cent) and roulette (6.4 per cent). Sports betting revenue rose by 6.1 per cent year-on-year to DKK207m, with over 70 per cent coming from mobile platforms, 15 per cent from desktop and 14.2 per cent from betting shops.
As for land-based gaming, slot machine revenue fell by 3.6 per cent year-on-year to DKK93m. The vast majority of revenue was generated by gambling halls, with gaming machines in restaurants contributing 20.3 per cent. Land-based casino revenue fell by 2.5 per cent to DKK31m, but April was the best performing month for the sector this year to date.
