Denmark rallies multi-institutional effort to tamp down black market

Denmark has embarked on a new and ambitious effort to limit the reach and scope of black market gambling in the country, which local authorities have branded "illegal."

The country has mounted a three-party initiative which involves the Gambling Advertising Board, the Gambling Authority and the Consumer Ombudsman who will work together to work effectively against illegal gambling companies and their marketing in the country.

Illegal gambling marketing has to go from Denmark

The partnership is designed to strengthen the synergies between the three institutions and to ensure that there is no duplication of their duties when addressing the country’s challenging and persisting black market.

This partnership foresees a much more streamlined process of addressing the black market.

For example, the Gambling Advertising Board will inform the Consumer Ombudsman or the Gambling Authority, the country’s regulator, in cases of non-compliance.

This initiative comes amid calls for better data reporting within the industry and a clear effort to strengthen protections against underage gambling.

The Consumer Ombudsman and the Gambling Authority for their part will seek to inform complainants that they can turn to the Gambling Advertising Board in those instances where a company breaks the industry’s code of conduct, but the company’s violations do not fall within the remit of the Gambling Authority or the Consumer Ombudsman.

This initial streamlining of the process may take complainants some time to figure out, but the institutions hope it will lead to a much clearer process of addressing black market operations.

Building a more socially responsible gambling industry

While the Gambling Authority and the Consumer Ombudsman specifically enforce rules related to the country’s gambling laws, the Gambling Advertising Board is an individual initiative which is backed by consumers and players who have been fastidiously flagging issues with the way companies have handled their marketing, and particularly in those cases when their marketing practices are at odds with the industry’s code of conduct.

The three institutions will seek to come together regularly and host joint meetings in which they can keep track of cases and assist each other with pertinent information. The end goal is to help build an industry in Denmark that is more socially responsible.

In an interview with Casino Guru News earlier this month, Danish Gambling Authority Director Anders Dorph said that the regulator is continuously fighting the illegal part of the offshore market and seeking to ensure a well-regulated and attractive market.

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