Online Gambling Licenses Extended in Denmark

The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has prolonged the first set of online gambling licenses for companies operating in full compliance with Danish gambling laws. The first gambling licenses were issued a year ago and will now be extended to provide five local and twenty foreign operators with the right to offer gaming in the country for a period of five years.

The license extension was not the only move carried out by the Danish Gambling Authority, the governing body also issued 9 revenue-restricted licenses for smaller operators of online casinos in Denmark. These licenses will limit their gross gambling revenue income to 1 million Danish kroner (around GBP 100,000).

The move is widely regarded as the start of the warming period towards online gambling in Denmark, which has long suffered restriction and limitations, causing citizens to seek gaming opportunities through unlicensed offshore sites and even illegal, underground operators.

The Danish Gambling Authority seems to be sure that it has succeeded in tackling illegal, unlicensed operators. The regulator was waging a widespread war on such companies by closing the Danish market opportunities to them and through ISP blocking.

Tina R. Olsen, the head of the Legal Division at the DGA, had the following comments for Danish gambling news: “The scope of illegal websites in Denmark is estimated to be rather limited.”

She went on to add: “The fact that 20 illegal websites have been blocked in 2012 illustrates that the Danish Gambling Authority performs its obligation to monitor the Danish gambling market in order to protect both consumers and the legal operators on the market."