Analysis DENMARK REPORT
The idea was the give players a choice between several game companies with the aim that the competition between the new providers would create better products for the players.
It wanted Danish games to be channelled into a regulated and controlled environment and put more focus on player protection.
The new legislation proposes that internet casino games can now be offered in a free market competition to commercial gaming operators with a Danish licence. In doing so, the government is aiming to put a stop to illegal marketing and game supply from foreign providers without a licence.
The government felt that the number of people playing foreign online gaming sites was growing and because it was not regulated could have an adverse effect on its society.
The gambling reform should provide a profit for the Danish state and ‘non profit’ organisations equal to the level it currently provides. Online gaming will be taxed at 20 per cent
It seems both private operators and G3i I ISSUE 2 I PAGE 66
Danske Spil are pleased with the new changes permitting Danske Spil to now operate poker and online gaming. In addition the company was hoping its 30 per cent of its intake payable to the state would be reduced if deregulation went ahead. Meanwhile the charities have seen declining revenues over the last couple of years and welcome a long term solution to reform the market.
It has been suggested in the proposals that gaming operators will pay a total application and authorisation fee of between DKK650,000 to DKK1m for authorised betting and online gaming whilst licensees will then pay an annual fee of around DKK2m.
Meanwhile under the new proposed regulations Danske Spil will still have its monopoly within the lottery, horse and greyhound racing market.
Organised racing has been happening in Denmark since 1820 and there are currently eight trotting tracks. These lanes attract between 350,000 and 400,000 spectators per year. Two of the major horse racing tracks are located in Copenhagen and are a huge tourist attraction.
Tourismis amajor industry in
Copenhagenwith the number of overnight stays in hotels in the city reaching 5.3
million in 2008. The city offers around 13,000rooms.
Total turnover in
2008 for theDanish gamingmarket (not including casinos or online casinos) amounted to
DKK25bn according
to Skatteministeriet (TaxMinistry). The gross gaming
revenue is estimated to be around
DKK7.7bn in 2008
which includes land and online casinos whilst eachDanish person spent approximately
DKK150permonth on gaming.
A draft bill for the new legislation was submitted to the European Commission in July last year. Initially although the draft text of the law was notified to the European Commission and made public the Danish government later invoked the confidentiality procedure.
However the draft law was finally published on February 12 and if all goes to plan via Parliament it will come into force on January 1 2011. It can be viewed in full at:
www.skm.dk/public/dokumenter/hoerings svar/spil.pdf (in Danish only).
It includes the following provisions:
• The provision of the lottery licence is still given to one company, Danske Spil, for an indefinite period of time.
Danske Spil has an agreement with ATG (Swedish provider of horse racing) so players have access also to Swedish racing. The government wants to keep the racing under the monopoly fearing if it was an open market more ‘professional’ players would be attracted to play on foreign racing games rather than the Danish horseracing and its revenue would be reduced.
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