Danish online casino revenues reach record high
Casino and sports verticals see rise in Q4 revenues while poker GGR falls 18.2% year-on-year
The Danish online casino market recorded its strongest performance since the re-regulation of the egaming market after a 10.6% year-on-year rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during Q4 2013.
According to figures released by the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA), online casino revenues for the three months rose from DKK235m (£25.9m) to DKK260m (£28.7m), and contributed to an overall market total of DKK640m (£70.5m) for the quarter.
However, the country’s online poker market continued to struggle during the period after reporting an 18.2% year-on-year decrease in GGR from DKK55m (£6m) to DKK45m (£5m).
The Danish sports betting market also recorded strong growth which, although not broken down between land-based and online by the regulator, saw GGR rise 7% year-on-year to DKK380m (£41.9m).
In total the Danish gambling market grew by 16% during 2013 as GGR increased to DKK2.4bn from DKK2bn in 2012, although the numbers do include land-based sports betting contributions.
Speaking with eGaming Review, Morten Ronde, CEO of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA), said he was surprised by the growth in sports betting which he attributed to an increase in mobile betting.
“It was not foreseen that the betting market would grow this much but most likely you can attribute the growth to the rapidly growing mobile gambling market and the success of in-play/live betting,” he said. “The share of mobile betting compared to standard PC betting is close to a 50/50 split in Denmark now.”
However, Ronde said DOGA was still concerned by Danske Spil’s share of the market which is estimated to be 60% of the total betting and online casino market.
“The numbers show that the Danish government has to act to create a level playing field and to stop Danske Spil from using its dominant position on the lottery market to leverage on the betting and online casino market,” he said.
DOGA has previously called on consumer protection agencies to introduce new regulation to help combat Danske Spil’s “unfair” position in the Danish market.