Danish self-exclusion program reaches 50,000 registrations

The landmark Danish self-exclusion program has reached a pivotal milestone with the program, known as ROFUS, hitting 50,000 registrations as of April 2024, the Danish Gambling Authority reported in an official statement.

The program was first introduced in 2012 to help consumers exclude themselves from various gambling activities, including in-person sports betting, land-based casinos, and online gambling. By the end of the same year, more than 1,500 country residents were registered with ROFUS, seen as an opportunity to extricate themselves from gambling and fight gambling-related harm.

Fast forward to 2024, and the number has grown significantly. Demographically, the majority of players who have excluded themselves is predominantly men with 77% of all registrations on ROFUS. Another noteworthy fact is that close to two-thirds of all registrants have opted for the permanent self-exclusion option.

There has been a significant uptick in the number of registrations in the past several years, not least owing to the regulator’s efforts to increase awareness for the product.

From January 1, 2020, onwards, ROFUS has been advertised as part of online gambling companies’ own promotional materials, allowing consumers much easier access to self-exclusion options, and the program was similarly introduced as a prerequisite for land-based betting operators on October 1, 2023.

This comes at a time of increased scrutiny on the gambling sector, including 3,000 registered calls to the Danish Gambling Helpline (StopSpillet) which was established in 2019 and has been serving as another option for players at risk to overcome their dependence on gambling and seek help.

Denmark has similarly addressed other concerns such as underage gambling, and has made it clear that it would continue to tweak regulatory standards to ensure that young consumers are protected. In fact, most of the problem gamblers who contact StopSpillet acknowledged that they had placed their first wager before the age of 25, reinforcing the idea that the younger players start playing the more likely they are to develop a gambling addiction.

In the meantime, ROFUS presented a further breakdown of how consumers interacted with ROFUS. 64% of all people who are self-excluded chose to do so permanently. 17% have opted for a six-month cool-off period. Another 12% decided to go for three months, and 7% went for just one month of self-exclusion.

The 32,000 people who self-excluded permanently however may require further help and assistance in overcoming their dependence on gambling. ROFUS, StopSpillet and the Danish Gambling Authority are actively working to strengthen that journey to recovery.

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