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Denmark’s tax ministry is circulating proposed amendments to the country’s gambling laws that would give the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) power to issue injunctions and prosecute violations of gambling law.
Currently, the DGA refers most violations to police or prosecutors, and sanctions against licensees are not public information, in contrast to neighbouring countries like Sweden.
Changes had been promised as long ago as August 2020, by then-tax minister Morten Bødskov.
The proposed amendments would also authorize the authority to collect data to fight match-fixing and money laundering, as well as supervise licensees’ duty to protect gamblers, according to the draft.
It would allow the DGA to obtain what the proposal calls a unique player ID to track players’ “game patterns” across gambling providers to facilitate that supervision.
Morten Ronde of the Danish Online Gambling Association said he thought operators would probably support the proposal to track players across brands.
“We just hope that it's not too cumbersome to administrate or implement”, he said.
The ministry is also proposing new fees on slot machines to help pay for the regulator’s extra burden of monitoring, with fees moving to a system based on turnover rather than per machine, the proposal said.
Licensees would also only be able to offer games supplied by suppliers with a permit, according to the proposal.
The bill would take effect July 1, 2024, with fee changes and supplier licensing proposals taking effect January 1, 2025.
The draft proposals have been notified to the European Union and are circulating to interested parties, including the Danish Online Gambling Association, the Bar Association and the Casino Association.
The EU standstill period ends on February 6 next year.
