The Danish Gambling Authority was successful in the District Court to block 49 websites offering illegal gambling in Denmark. This is the ninth time the Danish Gambling Authority has gone to court to block illegal sites.
On 14 July 2023, the Copenhagen City Court ruled in favor of the Danish Gambling Authority in all 49 notified cases. The Danish Gambling Authority has been blocking illegal websites offering games such as betting and online casinos to Danes since 2012, when the gambling market in Denmark was partially liberalised. In total, 276 illegal sites have been blocked since 2012.
"It is a very important task for the Danish Gambling Authority to ensure that Danes are not exposed to gambling offered illegally in Denmark and that it does not comply with the requirements for consumer protection, among other things, set out in gambling law. At the same time, we need to ensure that gambling providers who have a license to offer games in Denmark can operate on the Danish market without unfair competition from providers who do not have to meet Danish requirements“, says the director of the Danish Gambling Authority, Anders Dorph.
As something new, the Danish Gambling Authority proposes blocking illegal websites twice a year. In the past, lockouts have occurred annually.
"We are constantly trying to optimize our efforts against illegal gambling and one of our latest initiatives is, among other things, to block illegal websites more often than before. This means that illegal sites are active in Denmark for a shorter period of time, as the time from when we identify them until they are blocked is shortened“, explains Anders Dorph.
The Danish Gambling Authority constantly monitors the gambling market to detect illegal gambling. In particular, the Danish Gambling Authority uses automated searches, but also follows up on reports from citizens and businesses.
If the Danish Gambling Authority discovers sites offering illegal gambling, the Authority informs them of the infringement and asks them to stop the illegal offer. If the illegal offer does not stop, the Authority asks the district court to block the illegal sites. In practical terms, it is the Danish ISPs who have to implement the blocking of illegal gambling sites.
Blocked websites mostly offer traditional casino games like roulette, slot machines, and poker, as well as betting. 13 of these blocked sites are the so-called websites of skin betting. Skin betting covers betting, casino games and lotteries where the deposit and/or winnings are a skin, which is a virtual object in computer games.
