Analysis
DENMARK REPORT
THEWIDERPICTURE All eyes have been focused on the Danish market recently due to the proposed new legislative changes announced at the beginning of this year.
Danske Spil has enjoyed a virtual monopoly of the Danish gaming sector for the last 60 years despite a number of disagreements with the European Commission.
The monopoly situation has been well documented over the years and back in 2003 Danske Spil’s control of the market started to come under particular threat.
As online gaming began to take shape around the world in the early part of the last decade, Danske Spil was one of the first state operators to offer lottery and sports betting games online.
This prohibited outside companies from freely competing in the Danish gaming market and thus for the last decade Denmark has been in a battle against the EU over free trade agreement violations.
At the moment foreign gambling providers are prohibited from directly or indirectly targeting Danish players through marketing
methods which includes internet gaming.
The Danes have for years skirted around the monopoly situation and it is estimated that the Danes spend DKK350m at foreign online casino sites whilst there are said to be around 5,000 compulsive gamblers in Denmark.
The
Danskespil.dk site sees around 800,000 users per month and each year transactions total DKK25m. By the end of 2008 some 410,000 gamblers had an account on this particular website.
In May last year Ladbrokes launched a campaign under the slogan ‘Danish Games-British Odds’ and Danske Spil brought an action against Ladbrokes for violation of the Danish Marketing Act and Danish Trademark Act.
Nothing really changed until 2008 when Denmark shocked the gambling nation and announced that it would open its doors to outside gaming vendors and put a free- trade online gaming practice in place within the next two years.
It all reality the monopoly was under increasing attack from the European commission and the 200,000 plus Danish
G3i I ISSUE 2 I PAGE 65
The combined shopping centre industry across the
Nordic countries has one of the highest shopping centre
densities in Europe. The first purpose built enclosed
shopping centre in theworldwas
actually opened in Sweden back in 1955.
players who were gambling on unlicensed sites which were advertising illegally via the Danish media.
In addition Danish politicians and TV broadcaster TV2 all wanted a piece of the Danish gaming market pie. State owned broadcasting company TV2 had already launched its own website offering games of skill such as poker, Ludo, chess and sudoku. Players can set up accounts and deposit money and use it to play.
And so Danish Tax Minister Kristian Jensen proposed a bid for opening the gaming market with the aim of regulating and taxing the gaming activities. The proposal was met with enthusiasm.
Despite the government’s defence of the monopoly the Danish were still continuing to gamble on illegal sites and the concern over lack of control had been growing.
Finally in April 2009 the Danish government (Liberal and Conservative party), the Social Democrats, Danish People’s Party, Socialist People’s Party, Liberal Party and Liberal Alliance put forth a draft legislation to partially liberalise and modernise the Danish gaming market.
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