Denmark’s governing body Spillemyndigheden has blocked access to 16 websites offering gambling services illegally in the country.
One website had already pulled out of the market, prior to a District Court verdict on 17th March which sided with the regulator’s request to block 17 unregulated websites.
The remaining have now been banned and come from a range of betting backgrounds.
Blocked
Seven of the websites that Spillemyndigheden wanted to rid from the market offered esports skin betting. Another seven were online casino operators, with the remaining two hosting real-money betting.
All iGaming brands that operate in the Danish market must, as part of official regulations, have Spillemyndigheden’s logo clearly displayed on their site.
The authority’s Director, Morten Niels Jakobsen, had the following to say.
“We work to protect players against illegal gambling, and we also need to ensure that the operators who are licenced to offer gambling in Denmark can run their businesses under orderly conditions. That is why it is very important for us to clamp down on gambling offered without a licence.”
Tighter regulations proposed
Last year, Spillemyndigheden shut down a total of 28 unregulated websites in Denmark.
Back in February, the nation’s leading operator Danske Spil shared a 10-point action plan. It argued that if these were implemented, player safety would be improved in Scandinavia’s southernmost country.
If these proposals were to come into play, affiliate partners would be banned from operating in Denmark.
VIP schemes would also be removed, while there would be restrictions to TV advertising too – amongst other things.
After this, Danske Spil Chief Executive Susanne Mørch Koch said the following.
“It is in everyone’s interest that we have a gaming market where gaming remains the entertainment it should be. And although we, as a gambling provider, have a large number of fences to prevent and protect vulnerable players, we unfortunately find that today there are too many who fall through the protection network that has been set up.
“Therefore, we believe it is necessary to tighten the net and regulate the gaming market further. And in order for it to work, it requires the same rules for all gaming providers in Denmark.”
Tighter regulations proposed
Last year, Spillemyndigheden shut down a total of 28 unregulated websites in Denmark.
Back in February, the nation’s leading operator Danske Spil shared a 10-point action plan. It argued that if these were implemented, player safety would be improved in Scandinavia’s southernmost country.
If these proposals were to come into play, affiliate partners would be banned from operating in Denmark.
VIP schemes would also be removed, while there would be restrictions to TV advertising too – amongst other things.
After this, Danske Spil Chief Executive Susanne Mørch Koch said the following.
“It is in everyone’s interest that we have a gaming market where gaming remains the entertainment it should be. And although we, as a gambling provider, have a large number of fences to prevent and protect vulnerable players, we unfortunately find that today there are too many who fall through the protection network that has been set up.
“Therefore, we believe it is necessary to tighten the net and regulate the gaming market further. And in order for it to work, it requires the same rules for all gaming providers in Denmark.”
