The Danish Gambling Authority Blocks 178 Illegal Gambling Sites, Highest Number Since 2012

The Danish Gambling Authority monitors websites that offer gambling to Danes without a licence. The blocking of the sites is done through the court, which assesses whether they should be blocked, and now the court in Frederiksberg has ruled in favour of the Danish Gambling Authority and have ordered the Danish internet service providers to block 178 gambling sites.

In total, the Danish Gambling Authority has had 616 illegal gambling sites blocked since 2012.

Record number of blocks

178 blocked websites are the highest number so far for a single blocking case since 2012. Previously, the Danish Gambling Authority conducted only one case a year in court to have the sites closed, but since 2024 the cases have been brought before the court twice annually.

“It is of course frustrating that illegal gambling sites continue to appear targeting Danes,” says Anders Dorph, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority.

“But I am very pleased that we have tools to find the sites and that we manage to get them blocked. In 2023, we took the initiative to have the sites blocked twice a year instead of once. This means that we can more quickly shut down access to sites that do not have a Danish licence and where consumers do not have the same protection as those gambling operators who have a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority.”

How the blocks take place

When the Danish Gambling Authority assesses that a website is offering gambling illegally, the Danish Gambling Authority first asks the operator to stop the offer. If this does not happen, the Danish Gambling Authority will contact the telecommunications providers, who is asked to block access to the websites so that their customers cannot access the sites. After this, the telecommunications providers ask for the court's word that the sites are illegal and that they must shut down access to the websites. There is therefore a longer process from the Danish Gambling Authority's assessment that a website offers gambling illegally to the fact that it can no longer be accessed by Danish citizens.

The Danish Gambling Authority's warrant for blocking access to the illegal websites is done with a DNS blocker. In this case, the connection between the player and the website of the gambling operator is blocked by the telecommunication provider used by the player. If you try to access a blocked website, you will be greeted by a page with information that the site is illegal and blocked by the Danish Gambling Authority.  

When is gambling illegal in Denmark?

It is illegal to offer gambling in Denmark or target the Danish market without a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority. A game is considered to be directed against Denmark if one or more of the following elements are present, among other things:

• Danish language
• Danish currency
• Payment cards that only work in Denmark
• Danish customer service
• Connecting via Steam (Digital distribution platform for multiple computer games)
• The composition of the gambling offer means that it targets Danish players, for example, by offering bets on sports events in lower national ranks.

Look for the label

All gambling operators with a licence to offer gambling in Denmark must use the Danish Gambling Authority's label of approval.

The label helps players to see which gambling operators have a licence to offer gambling on the Danish market. It contributes to creating a safe gambling market and is not allowed to be used in other contexts without prior written approval from the Danish Gambling Authority. Therefore, as a player, you can count on the fact that sites with the Danish Gambling Authority's label are legal in Denmark.