Unlicensed operators taking 14% of Danish revenues
New study shows that black market continues to eat away at regulated revenues in Denmark, with casino and poker most affected
Unlicensed operators are taking 14% of Denmark’s online gambling spend, a new study from the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA) has revealed.
The study, conducted by Myresearch on behalf of DOGA at the end of April and the beginning of May, showed that despite regulation, unlicensed operators still accounted for a substantial portion of the Danish market.
The problem is most acute in the poker and casino verticals, in which one in four customers had played with unlicensed operators with around 17% of Denmark’s DK1.1bn (£104m) casino spend going to the black market.
“It cannot be stressed enough that this needs to be taken seriously,” Morten Rønde, CEO of DOGA, said. “We need to consider why so many of the Danish players are still using black market operators and what could be done to encourage the players to stake money on licensed operators only,” he added.
The report also noted those who most regularly used unlicensed operators also tended to spend more on average than those who solely gambled with licensed firms.
Rønde said that giving operators the scope to provide a broader range of products, including online bingo and instant lottery games, would be one way to crackdown on the black market.
Earlier this month an amendment to the country’s gambling legislation introduced a new type of licence covering daily fantasy sports in a move which suggested the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) is exploring ways to bring a greater slice of the black market under regulation.
The DGA declined to comment on the DOGA figures, or what moves it is taking to crackdown on black market operators.