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A bill that would give the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) the power to issue injunctions and prosecute violations of the gambling law, as well as require licences for suppliers, was referred to the committee stage just a week after it was submitted to parliament.
Bill L 100 was first read in parliament on January 31 after it was submitted by Jeppe Bruus, the minister of taxation. It was then referred to the committee stage on February 7.
The bill implements parts of a political agreement announced by the ministry in 2022 on the relaxation of the current rules on non-profit lotteries and strengthening the regulator’s powers, as well as changing the structure of some supervision fees.
Under the proposed rules, suppliers will require a licence. Once licensed, they face enforcement sanctions and licence revocations for legal breaches.
Morten Ronde, the managing partner of law firm Nordic Gambling, said the rules mean “most suppliers will only need one licence”, unlike in neighbouring Sweden.
Ronde told Vixio GamblingCompliance that operators that also develop their games will not need a supplier licence. However, if they sell the games to other operators they will do so.
A licence for suppliers cannot be granted until January 1, 2025 “at the earliest” so that the transition will be “as flexible as possible to ensure that the gaming market is disrupted as little as possible”, the bill states.
The supplier licence application fee will be DKR62,000 (€8,300) and an annual fee of about DKR41,400.
It is predicted in the bill that introducing a licence for suppliers “may lead to a limited decrease in turnover”, which could slightly reduce the amount of gambling taxes the government collects from the industries; however, it is “not estimated to be significant”, the bill says.
Other proposed changes in the draft legislation include allowing the DGA to collect data to fight match-fixing and money laundering, as well as supervise licensees’ duty to protect gamblers.
It would also allow the DGA to obtain what the proposal calls a “unique player ID” to track players’ behaviour across gambling providers.
The European Union was notified of the proposals on November 3, 2023, with the standstill period ending on February 7.
