Danish regulator blocks 82 illegal sites

Danish gaming regulatory body, Spillemyndigheden, blocked a record 82 illegal websites in 2022, up from 55 in the previous year, its yearly report says.

Spillemyndigheden has been making efforts to prevent unlicensed websites from catering to Danish consumers since the country’s market was liberalised in 2012, with the Danish gambling market maintaining a high 90 percent channelization rate.

Although there is a 49 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of the blocked website which may suggest that the illegal market seem to be expanding, it is actually limited in size. According to the Spillemyndigheden report, the growing number of blocked sites is primarily a reflection of the heightened attention the regulatory body has paid to the unlicensed sector in recent years.

Spillemyndigheden noted that it has noticed a rise in the use of Facebook groups as a means of accessing illegal gambling and has collaborated with Facebook to shut down groups and remove posts that promote such activity. The body also said that it is currently in talks with Google to establish a similar agreement to block illicit gambling advertisements and search results on Google’s platform.

According to the regulators, “The Gambling Authority is working to establish more collaboration with other media where we see that illegal gambling or the illegal dissemination of gambling is taking place.”

But the body has also sought the cooperation of citizens to ensure illegal betting sites are identified and blocked.

“If you as a citizen want to help the Gambling Authority in our supervision, we encourage you to document the gambling bid with pictures or video and a link to any websites,” the body added.

The regulatory body collaborated with the Danish Tax Agency’s anti-fraud unit to conduct various investigations into gambling sites last year. The report states that the body experimented with involving a third-party entity to spearhead these investigations, but found that this approach was no more successful.

Also, the body highlighted the regulator’s concern over affiliate websites that promote themselves by explicitly targeting individuals who have registered for the Danish self-exclusion system ROFUS, using phrases such as “Play outside ROFUS.”

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