European Commission green lights gambling expansion in Denmark

The European Commission cleared the way for Denmark to end Danske Spil’s monopoly on offering online bingo and horse race betting in Denmark on Friday, after the three-month standstill period set aside for review of the country's draft law by the EC and other member states expired.

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The new law will liberalise betting on horse, dog and pigeon racing in both online and land-based channels.

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Alongside the introduction of a special contribution to the sport of horse racing of 8% of the turnover from bets on Danish horse races.

The contribution was justified on the following basis: “Interest in and turnover of betting on horse racing has been declining since 2007 and an assessment has shown that the current model, in which Danske Spil A/S has a monopoly, has not been able to sustain interest in the bets. This has had a negative influence on the sport of horse racing.”

Leading Nordic operator Betsson declined to give specific details on its plans for Denmark to iGaming Business, but spokesperson Pia Rosin told iGaming Business that “the end of the standstill obviously opens up business opportunities for us as we are allowed to offer bingo and horse racing as of January 1st 2018”.