Denmark gambling reforms to be implemented from January

The Danish government presented a bill supporting its strict gambling reforms package this week, citing plans for the reforms to be implemented via a phased approach, between January and October next year. Marketing restrictions, including a whistle-to-whistle ban on betting advertising during live sports will come into place in July 2027.

A series of stringent new regulations sent shockwaves through the industry last October. Known as Spilpakken 1, the package included a focus on stricter marketing rules, enhanced supervision of the unregulated sector, revamped land-based gaming regulations, and adjusted taxation policies. 

Minister for Taxation and Growth Jakob Engel-Schmidt presented the bill to parliament on 7 October, almost exactly a year after the package was made public.

A recap on the bill’s offerings

Within the bill, key policies were set out, including gambling ads not targeting minors (under 18) or featuring anyone under the age of 25.

The bill will also bar marketing in public transport and facilities within 200 metres of most schools and youth education institutions. It also introduced a comprehensive prohibition on gambling ads during live sports broadcasts – from ten minutes prior to kick-off until ten minutes after the event ends, including live odds on screens and streaming platforms. 

According to the bill, the live-sport ad ban could cost the state DKK15 million ($2.25 million) in 2027 and 25 million a year after. The regulator would lose around DKK1-2 million in fees through this ban.

The bill will also require licence holders, excluding small charitable land-based lotteries, to continuously monitor player behaviour and promptly intervene when signs of gambling problems arise.

The Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) will gain explicit without-court inspection powers to investigate suspected illegal gambling activities.

Unauthorised gambling provision carries fines or imprisonment up to one year in aggravated cases. The bill criminalises the marketing of unlicensed gambling. Fine calculations will scale with company size and be based on their annual gross gaming revenue.

A definition change

For land-based retail operators, the “bestyrer” approval system will be replaced by new licences (“forhandlere”) across games such as lotteries, bingo, betting, casino games and gaming machines.

Updated definitions include changes to “spillebutik” and “spillehal” (gambling arcades) requiring physical separation, staff presence during operating hours, and the prohibition of minors from entering. The bill will restrict certain fast-paced games to the hours of 7am to midnight.

Licensing for combination or novel game variants will require explicit regulator approval. This was implemented after assessing responsible gambling implications, market impact and conflicts with monopolised lottery products.

A re-submission 

At the time “Spilpakke 1” was made public, Morten Rønde, managing partner at Nordic Legal told iGB he was “shell shocked” at the reforms package.

“In all the proposals that are made, there’s no link to any evidence that this is something that will help gambling addiction. And I am pretty sure that it won’t,” he said.  

“It looked worse at one point; a complete advert ban was discussed, but it’s still not great where we’ve landed.” The political appetite for stricter measures remains strong. 

“There are several political parties in Denmark who are in favour of a full advertisement ban,” he noted.  

Commenting on the new bill, Rønde remarked that it replaced a previous iteration of the bill (L-127), which lapsed with the election, and its substance is unchanged.

Kathryn Evans

Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.