Ten years after the introduction of Denmark’s regulating gaming market, the country has achieved a channelization rate of 90 percent.
This is considerable progress considering that when Denmark’s parliament passed the 2012 Gambling Act, which legalized online gaming, the state-owned monopoly Danske Spil accounted for 39 percent of total market share. The rest was made up of unlicensed and illegal websites.
The 90 percent channelization rate was first achieved in 2020. In the first year of the regulated market the regulator Spillemyndigheden achieved 69 percent. That rate has only climbed in subsequent years.
According to Spillemyndigheden, licensed operators are required to impose deposit limits, make consumers aware of the self-exclusion register and pay taxes.
Anders Dorph, director of Spillemyndigheden, commented, “One of the most important reasons for the partial liberalization of the Danish gaming market 10 years ago was that Danes wanted to play on a wider range of games, and therefore demanded games from private game providers who offered online games.”
He added, “These providers were not covered by Danish regulations and therefore did not pay gaming tax to the state. It also meant that they did not have to live up to the Danish rules for consumer protection and responsible gambling.”
He noted that this is the fifth highest channelization rate of the 10 European nations measured. “We are proud that Denmark is one of the countries with the highest proportion of online games with licensed providers. In Europe, we have been surpassed by only a few countries,” said Dorph.
