Anders Dorph: “Creating obstacles to the game is key to stopping one’s gambling problems”

Since ROFUS was launched in 2012, the Danish self-exclusion program has been able to register at least 40,000 Danes. This has been made possible by the consistent focus of the Danish gambling industry, and its regulator, Spillemyndigheden, to aid gamblers to control their habits. As Anders Dorph, Director of Spillemyndigheden, puts it – creating an "obstacle" to the game is an important part of stopping one’s gambling problems.

Today, some 500,000 Danes are estimated to cope with some form of gambling addiction, but ROFUS is there to provide continuous support. Operators have also become more proactive in communicating with players about the importance of responsible gambling. Find out about how Denmark has become one of the safest places to be a gambler in our conversation with Dorph.

Q: Rofus is Denmark’s national self-exclusion program and a solution that has been hailed as a success. What does Rofus owe its success to today?

We are very pleased that so many Danes register with ROFUS. We see it as a service that can help them regardless of the underlying reason for the self-exclusion.

There has been a continuous increase in the number of registered persons since ROFUS was created in 2012. Today, more than 40,000 Danes have chosen to exclude themselves via ROFUS. We cannot say with certainty why ROFUS is so successful, but in the past years, we have worked continuously to increase awareness of the register.

This has been done, for instance through awareness campaigns, advertisements, and presentations at educational institutions. Furthermore, we believe that ROFUS has become more widely known since January 2020, when a requirement was added to the Gambling Act that operators must disclose the option of self-exclusion via ROFUS in connection with all their marketing.

Q: There is a global push for understanding the efficacy of self-exclusion programs – mostly through research that is being funded by the private and public sectors. What is Spillemyndigheden’s experience with self-exclusion programs? Are they efficient?

We do not have data to support whether or how a specific self-exclusion helps the individual. However, studies show the importance of taking breaks from gambling. Creating an "obstacle" to the game is an important part of stopping one’s gambling problems. When distancing oneself from the game, it becomes easier for the player to deal with their addiction. More than half of those who contact "StopSpillet" (the DGA’s compulsive gambling helpline) have already registered with ROFUS.
ROFUS is also an important part of the treatment centres' counselling of the players who are treated for compulsive gambling.

Q: What would make a program efficient, like Rofus is, and inefficient? Is it a matter of bad planning, lack of sufficient monitoring, a matter of continuous improvement or something else?

I cannot say which self-exclusion system is the most efficient for everyone. However, I’m sure that the ability to choose between different time periods for the self-exclusion is of great importance. When registering with ROFUS, you exclude yourself from online gambling and land-based casinos for either a temporary period, where the registration expires automatically, or a permanent exclusion, which does not expire unless the player asks to have the registration revoked after a minimum of 1 year.

Of course, it is the individual which type of self-exclusion that works best for each person. However, in general, I believe that it is important for those who register with ROFUS that the self-exclusion is their own choice. It is impossible to register anyone other than yourself with ROFUS, and once in the register, the information about the exclusion is not shared with the player’s family, workplace, bank or the like. This is of great importance to many players.

Our data shows that most players (approx. 68 per cent) choose the longest possible self-exclusion: The permanent exclusion, where the registration cannot be removed for a minimum of 1 year and 7 days. I believe that this proves there is a need for blocking oneself from playing for a longer period.

The Danish Gambling Authority is a supervisory authority; thus, we continuously monitor compliance with the gambling legislation, including that operators comply with the rules regarding ROFUS. I believe that a very important part of ROFUS is that the player can trust that the system works. Therefore, it is always a high priority for us to ensure the ongoing operation of the system as well as ensuring that the operators use the register correctly.

Q: Even if we can call Rofus a success today, do you think there are aspects of the program that can still be improved?

We continuously aim to increase awareness of the register, so that more people can consider, on an informed basis, whether self-exclusion via ROFUS is a good choice for them.

According to the latest survey on compulsive gambling in Denmark (2021), about 500,000 Danes have varying degrees of problematic gambling behavior. This may indicate that the target group for ROFUS is far larger than the 40,000 Danes who have currently self-excluded. However, based on recently completed awareness campaigns, several citizens consider a registration with ROFUS to be somewhat taboo, and it’s our goal to change this.

We are always open to dialogue with players, relatives, and professionals about improvements of ROFUS and we continuously work to make ROFUS as user-friendly and relevant as possible within the framework we have.

Q: Denmark is, without a doubt, one of the best jurisdictions in Europe in terms of consumer safety when it comes to gambling. Do you think this is because other countries and regulators lack the will to regulate the sector adequately or is the reason more complicated than that?

Thank you for the kind words! Since ROFUS has existed since the liberalization of the Danish gambling market in 2012, it’s natural that we are also ahead in consumer protection on some points.
In Denmark, we also have a great focus on informing the players about the legal market, where they are guaranteed consumer protection: We have a labeling scheme with a label that is mandatory for all operators with a Danish license to use, as well as our campaigns for ROFUS and StopSpillet.

Q: Can you make one prediction about how consumer safety in the gambling industry is going to evolve in Europe at least over the coming years?

It seems that in recent years the gambling industry has become more focused on consumer protection. To a greater extent than before, we see that operators individualize their communication regarding responsible gambling to the players.
There’s also a tendency that the operators to use data about the individual players to protect them rather than to nudge them into playing more.

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