The decision in the illegal bingo dispute was in favor of the regulator by the Danish court

A local association’s dispute with gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden over illegal bingo and banko has been ruled in favor of the regulator by Copenhagen’s City Court.

In 2019, Denmark’s gambling regulator conducted a routine inspection and discovered that an unidentified association had been conducting illegal bingo and banko games for its members on a daily basis for several years.

Spillemyndigheden argued that these games were the primary purpose of the association and therefore violated national laws. The case was subsequently reported to the police.

According to the current laws in Denmark, lotteries such as bingo and banko games are considered to be a state monopoly, except for those organized by non-profit organizations for charitable purposes.

The regulator found that the association in question did not meet this criteria, and during a control visit in 2019, it was found that the association had been offering bingo and banko games illegally for its members on a daily basis for several years.

The case was reported to the police by the regulator, and in a ruling made on May 8, the Copenhagen City Court agreed with the regulator’s findings. The association has been ordered to pay a fine of DKK 15,000 and an estimated DKK 5.0m is to be confiscated as part of the ruling.

Problem gambling

The issue of problem gambling is a serious concern in many countries around the world, and Denmark is no exception.

Following the allocation of an additional DKK30m by Denmark’s government last month to tackle problem gambling in the country over the next three years, recent reports have indicated that almost 500,000 Danes suffer from gambling addiction.

DKK10m per year will be used to support problem gambling projects and initiatives, with the first DKK10m to be spent on programs aimed at children and young people, as well as research into gambling addiction.

Furthermore, Spillemyndigheden has taken responsibility for overseeing StopMatchfixing, a service allowing individuals to anonymously report suspected match-fixing.