Danish Gambling Authority

Like most Europeans, Danes love football and regularly bet on the Premier League and the domestic Superliga. They are also notoriously good poker players, with a number of professional poker players ranked high on the WSOP world rankings.

The Danish Gambling Market

The gambling market in Denmark is partly liberalized, with the lottery still under a monopoly. In the past, the Danish government wasn’t a big fan of gambling, not allowing foreign companies to enter the Danish market. However, with a bit of pressure from the EU, the government introduced a few new laws which allowed a number of companies to enter the Danish gambling sector.

Until 2012, the only gambling license that was legal in Denmark was issued by the state-owned Danske Spill. Pressure from the European Union forced Denmark to change its laws, allowing major bookies such as Bet365 and Ladbrokes to enter the market and compete. The State still holds the rights to animal racing and luck-based gambling including bingo and lotteries.

After losing the rights to gambling in Denmark, Danske Spill was broken into two new companies – Danske Lotteri Spil and Danske Licens Spil. Danske Licens Spil covers online gambling in the Nordic country, with its revenue increasing every year. Due to the obvious need for a gambling license, the State created the Danish Gambling Authority, which regulates many different games including games of chance and poker.