Part 3: Denmark – still on the up
use to determine a site which is illegally offering its findings with regard to illegal content directly to
services to Danish players: a working group at Facebook, which is working on
• Danish language options on the site
• Danish currency option
• Payment services which would normally only
eliminating illegal gambling on the site.
The authority said it has closed four Facebook
groups in 2018 that provided illegal gambling.
work in Denmark
• Danish customer service options
• The composition of the gambling products on
The gaming crossover
The Danish authority already includes skin betting
offer are clearly directed towards the Danish in its regulations and either a betting or gaming
market licence is required, depending on the form of
betting taking place. However, it said that as yet no
Moreover, the authority also considers sites where
none of the above requirements are met if the site
directs its marketing towards Danish customers.
The search robot then presumably uses
operators have applied for a skin betting licence.
However, the report noted that all of the illegal
skin betting websites used the Steam platform
to offer their products. “This poses a challenge
machine learning techniques to improve its ability since Steam is also used for legal games (without
to spot illegal sites. stakes), which contributes to involving especially
“The number of websites with an illegal
supply of gambling products that are found
young persons in skin betting,” it stated.
Back in February six skin betting sites were
through web searches is continuously low,” the blocked on the order of the Danish courts. The
report said. “This matches the Danish Gambling report said that the court took the view that the
Authority’s impression of the illegal market: that games required a licence and that the websites’
still fewer websites with gambling products supply of gambling was targeting Denmark as
directed at Denmark appear. However, websites they were using Steam as login.
with illegal marketing and promotion of gambling
still pose a challenge.”
Intriguingly, it is clearly affiliate sites that are
“Subsequently, the Danish Gambling Authority
initiated an extensive web search of illegal
skin betting sites,” the report said. “It quickly
the focus of much of the DGA’s attention. “The became evident that searching for skin betting
majority of websites with illegal marketing and sites requires more than searching for regular
promotion of gambling websites are so-called gambling sites. Accordingly, the Danish Gambling
recommendation sites on which ‘the 10 best Authority programmed its own web crawler,
online casinos’ are referred to.” which gave a satisfactory result.
The Facebook factor worked through some of the websites that were
Further illicit activity has been traced to found, and it is expected that the next blocking
the pages of Facebook. The report said the session will include 20-25 skin betting sites.”
“The Danish Gambling Authority has thoroughly
regulator is aware of an increasing problem
The report also noted that the subject of the
with the illegal supply of gambling on the social “blurred lines” between gambling and gaming
media platform. is one that is the subject of political interest and
“The problem is primarily a matter of Facebook
consumer concern. The authority is a signatory
groups in which illegal gambling is provided (often to the letter from 17 European regulators on the
lotteries),” the report stated. As a consequence of issue of loot boxes and it is clear that the DGA
these findings, the authority said it has now initiated sees this as an area where it will be taking more
cooperation with Facebook and has already passed action in the future.
iGaming Business Market Monitor • February 2019
13