Danish gambling regulator takes on match-fixing in sport

On Monday, the Danish gambling regulator, Spillemyndigheden, undertook a new role in which it will lead the fight against match-fixing in Denmark.

The authority takes over the role from the non-governmental organization Anti Doping Denmark and will work under the Ministry of Culture. According to Spillemyndigheden, the new role will ensure it evolves into a “knowledge and information centre” regarding integrity in sport.

As the “secretariat for the national platform to combat match-fixing”, the Danish gaming authority will take over responsibility for StopMatchfixing. This service provides a medium for individuals to place anonymous reports on cases of suspected match-fixing.

Spillemyndigheden’s other roles include organizing different discussion forums under the platform. The regulator will be authorized to investigate and analyze information concerning suspicious sports bets, and control the sharing and reporting of information. This includes reaching out to all relevant bodies nationally and internationally when it confirms a violation.

The director of Spillemyndigheden, Anders Dorph, acknowledged the importance of the regulator’s new assignment.

“It’s a very important task and a big responsibility that I’m glad we’ve been given. Since we will be getting data on betting on events across operators licensed in Denmark, it makes perfect sense that we are also the ones with the coordinating and unifying function,” Dorph said.

Besides its investigative and coordination duties, Spillemyndigheden will also need to partner with international organizations such as regulators and match-fixing investigators to facilitate effective data collection.

“We will have a major focus on collaborating with national platforms in other countries. It will be completely natural for us, as we have close cooperation with gambling authorities all over the world, and international cooperation is something we already value highly,” Dorph continued.

According to Spillemyndigheden, the transfer of duties from Anti Doping Denmark was part of a “political agreement in the gaming area” made in February 2022.

The gambling regulator also recently announced that sports betting in the country had reached a record gross gaming revenue of DKK 607 million (€81.4m) in 2022, which was a 4.8% increase from the previous year.

More gambling news