Danish regulator is collaborating with Facebook to tackle the problem of illegal gambling activities

Spillemyndigheden blocked a record 82 sites last year.

The annual report on efforts to prevent illegal gambling in Denmark has been released by Spillemyndigheden.

Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gambling regulatory authority, has issued its annual report detailing its efforts to combat unlicensed gambling. The report reveals that a record 82 sites were blocked in the past year, which is an increase from 55 in the previous year.

The report further notes that Spillemyndigheden has initiated a collaboration with Facebook to shut down groups and remove posts that promote illegal gambling. This move comes in response to a surge in illegal gambling activities being facilitated through Facebook groups. Additionally, the regulator is currently in talks with Google to establish a similar agreement to combat gambling advertisements and search results on the Google platform.

“The Gambling Authority is working to establish more collaborations with other media where we see that illegal gambling or the illegal dissemination of gambling is taking place.”

In addition, the Danish gambling regulator collaborated with the Danish Tax Agency‘s anti-fraud unit to conduct several investigations into gambling sites last year. The report also highlights that Spillemyndigheden experimented with using a third-party to lead the investigations, but found that this approach was not more effective.

Spillemyndigheden clarified that despite the increased number of blocking orders, it does not necessarily indicate a growth in the size of the illegal market. Rather, it reflects the regulator’s increased vigilance towards combating unlicensed gambling. Furthermore, the report affirms that the Danish gambling market‘s channelization rate has remained steady at 90%, which indicates a high level of compliance with the licensed operators.

The report also criticized affiliate websites that explicitly promoted gambling opportunities outside of the national self-exclusion system, known as ROFUS. Such advertising encourages individuals to circumvent the system designed to protect problem gamblers and is viewed as a violation of responsible gambling practices.

“This is a clear breach of the purpose of the Gambling Act, which aims, among other things, to protect young people or other vulnerable people from developing gambling addiction and to ensure that games are offered in a fair, responsible and transparent manner.”

In December of last year, Spillemyndigheden updated its responsible gambling regulations to prohibit the use of reactivation bonuses for lapsed players. The regulator deemed such incentives to be an irresponsible marketing practice that could lead to problem gambling behavior.

“A player’s inactivity may not be a selection criterion when awarding promotional offers. Bonuses may therefore not be given on the basis of a player’s inactivity.”