In the year 2021, the Danish Gambling Authority blacklisted most websites in its history. The DGA announced in a study titled – Report on illicit gambling 2021 – that it had conducted six searches for potentially illegal websites in collaboration with the Danish Tax Agency’s anti-fraud unit. 

55 Websites Blacklisted

Additionally, the agency blacklisted 55 websites/online casinos that engaged in unlawful gaming, the greatest number revealed by the regulator. According to the report, the argument for blockings beginning in 2021 became significant when internet service providers stated for the first time that the Danish Gambling Authority can demand a website to be blocked only if it can demonstrate that Danish players used the website in question.

Nonetheless, the court sided with the Danish Gambling Authority and authorized the current practice of the Danish Gambling Authority documenting websites that offer gambling products aimed at the Danish market without a license via screen dumps. The case was appealed, and as a result, the Danish Gambling Authority took the case about website blockage before the Supreme Court. Additionally, the Danish Gambling Authority was favored by the top court. At the start of 2022, a new case involving website blocking is anticipated. Along with the sites that will be prohibited in 2021, the Danish Gambling Authority will evaluate all blacklisted websites to see whether any of them continued to sell gambling products aimed at the Danish market without a license.

The findings indicated that a substantial number of websites had ceased to offer gambling activities or had shifted their focus away from the Danish market entirely. As a result, the Danish Gambling Authority petitioned the court to lift the website blockings that were no longer in violation of the Gambling Act. Alternatively, the research examined illicit gambling in Denmark’s land-based sector in 2021, indicating that the Danish Gambling Authority was involved in 35 cases involving gambling establishments that did not have a license for poker or gaming machines. 

DGA’s Expanded Initiative 

The DGA stated that it will contact law enforcement if it becomes aware of any probable illegal installation or operation of poker and gambling machines, as well as betting terminals. The Danish Gambling Authority expanded on a 2019 initiative to perform compliance inspections of bingo venues in 2021. In 2021, the Danish Gambling Authority expanded on an initiative launched in 2019 to conduct compliance inspections on bingo venues. The DGA conducted a total of 106 compliance checks on bingo associations. Additionally, it filed 27 reports with the police regarding the illegal operation of charity lotteries throughout the country. Due to the COVID-19 scenario, the Danish Gambling Authority was unable to conduct on-site checks in 2021, opting instead to conduct checks through conversations with the parties.