Denmark continues to fight underage gambling

Denmark has long boasted some of the most robust gambling industry, which has put a particular focus on consumer protection, and has created a vibrant local ecosystem of regulated websites. Yet, some issues continue to persist, with a small but notable number of underage individuals still engaging in gambling.

The results are part of the Online Gambling in Denmark study conducted with the help of the Danish Gambling Authority and Statistics Denmark, and it’s particularly focused on websites that do not currently hold a Danish gambling license but continue to target customers locally.

The study has reached several notable conclusions, based on collated data. In total, 21.7% of all Danish citizensaged 15 or over gambled in the past year, the study found out, or that is around 1,082,000 people.

However, 15% of people aged 15-17 also gambled in the past year, or some 32,000 people in breach of the minimum gambling age in Denmark which is set at 18. In the meantime, out of the people who gambled online in the past year, 3.8% gambled with illegal gambling websites online in the past year, or some 41,000.

Yet, the result suggests, that Denmark’s regulated market channelization rate is 96%. However, the study continued to dig further, with 8.6% of respondents saying that they were not aware whether a website is legal or illegal. Out of the people who gambled on illegal websites, 91% confirmed that they had also gambled on licensed websites.

Demark now has a very good idea of what people do when they reach out to illegal gambling sites, arguing that people would mostly use those unlicensed websites for skin betting, sports betting or casino gaming.

Denmark remains one of the safest markets in Europe, striking a delicate balance between business interests and more notably – consumer safety. The latest data is important to the regulator, as it can focus its campaigns on educating the players who are not aware of the licensing status of a website and possibly stem the tide of illegal gambling.

In terms of underage gambling, the Danish Gambling Authority is working on several initiatives, including a responsible gambling campaign that is specifically targeting young people under the age of 18.

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