Danish gambling self-exclusion admits mea culpa

The Danish Gambling Authority’s self-exclusion program has encountered a serious error that prevented an estimated 1,200 account holders from renewing their restrictions on their gambling habits. The Register of Voluntarily Excluded Players or ROFUS has now been restored to normal operation, but the aforementioned number of accounts can have been able to see and participate in gambling in the meantime.

The regulator has confirmed as much in an official press statement, arguing that it may have been possible for a brief period for those self-excluded people to have been able to play in person at land-based casinos or place online wagers.

All necessary parties have been informed about the issue, the Danish Gambling Authority stated, adding that the error has been rectified and operations may return back to normal. The regulator similarly assured that any omission on its part has been unintentional and that the regulator has been doing its utmost to protect consumers who trust it to limit their gambling habits.

"The DGA makes great efforts to ensure that ROFUS is a stable and reliable service that you can trust. Therefore, it is also very regrettable that there has been an error in the system," the regulator stated on its website in Danish.

ROFUS has been around for a while. The first version of the self-exclusion program was in fact introduced in 2012 and underwent a more serious overhaul in 2022, hoping to strengthen its regulatory mechanisms and offer a deeper level of protection. Meanwhile, the regulator also confirmed that another issue, related to the "No thanks to gambling advertisements," has also been corrected, the official statement informed.

In the meantime, Denmark has been also actively involved in helping tackle underage gambling in the country, as one of its top priorities.

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