Introduction: A confident market
including the aforementioned
LeoVegas. Along with Mr Green,
which recently bought its way into
the market and provides one of
the few examples of Danish market
M&A, it has helped push the overall
marketing spend higher.
However, as with other
jurisdictions this freedom comes
at the cost of putting the online
sector more clearly in the sightlines
of the politicians. The issue of free
bonuses is once again prominent
with the most recent discussions in
Sweden seemingly being mirrored
in the Danish media.
Danske Spil’s position
Bonuses aren’t the only controversy
in Denmark. The somewhat
anomalous position of Danske Spil
continues to excite comment from
stakeholders in the private sphere,
who suggest that, albeit subtly, the
lottery arm and the licensed online
and betting business continue to
cross-promote between them.
Danske Spil recently launched a
second brand in Denmark, YouBet,
which is on the SBTech platform
and which the company hopes will
go towards reversing the gradual
decline in market share since 2012.
Remaining black market
There is still disagreement between
the government and the operators
regarding the size of the remaining
black market. The government has
insisted from day one that only
5% of market revenue is directed
towards unlicensed operators while
the operators and trade body the
Danish Online Gaming Association
(DOGA) say the evidence indicates
this to be closer to 15%. Whether
or not the proposed new measures
on bonuses will change that at
all is open to debate, but most
commentators agree that the
overall trend is towards a shrinking
unregulated portion.
Looking ahead
At current growth rates the market
overall is within reach of breaking
DKK4bn within the next two years.
This will likely be helped by the
occ urrence of the World Cup this
summer and potentially through
more new entrants that take
the opportunity of the opening
in Sweden next year having
another look at Denmark. More
consolidation within the online
gaming space more generally will
almost certainly affect Denmark’s
licensed operators either directly or
indirectly.
Today’s dot.dk market
leaves “little room
for illegal gambling”
according to the
current director of
regulator the Danish
Gambling Authority,
Birgitte Sand
Denmark: Insights and data on Europe’s pioneer model for igaming regulation
5