Danish Gambling Regulator Launches a Whistleblower Scheme

Danish Gambling Authority, also known as Spillemyndigheden, issued an official statement saying that the state had to establish a new whistleblower scheme.

What does that mean?

Well, basically, people who are working for licensed gambling operators from now on will have the opportunity to report to the regulator if they notice that their employee is laundering money.

It doesn’t matter if they only suspect it or if they have credible evidence…

…the national gambling regulator would investigate each report related to the violation of gambling laws.

Reporting to the Authorities

Any individual noticing unusual activity that might have something to do with money laundering, is free to either the regulator directly or online.

On the Spillemyndigheden’s website there is a special section where individuals can issue a report.

Of course, all reports can be anonymous, but the regulator will thoroughly analyze each and every report and furthermore begin legal investigation.

It is important to mention that all submissions will be encrypted in order to make sure that there is maximum security throughout the process.

New Code of Conduct for Operators

At the end of March, the Danish online gambling operator together with governmental authorities established a new “code of conduct” that operators and licensees in this country will need to comply to.

The main aim of this new set of rules to ensure better consumer protection…

…and also lessen the risks that gambling might bring in the future.

Although it has already been published and sent to operators for their review, the code will not come into effect before July 1st of this year.

Blocked Access to 25 Illegal Gaming Sites

Back in April, the regulator has also decided to block access to 25 unlicensed gaming websites.

The gambling authority collaborated with the country’s telecommunications and internet service providers to block Danish customers from gaining access to 10 online gambling sites and 15 skin betting sites.

Spillemyndigheden’s proposition to use strict measures against providers that didn’t respect the Danish rules was approved by the Copenhagen City Court.

“We use our authority to block websites on an ongoing basis. We do this to protect the gaming providers who are actually authorized to offer games in Denmark, but also to protect the players,“ Spillemyndigheden director, Birgitten Sand, explained.

“Here we are focusing in particular on sites that offer skin betting, as they often target children and adolescents under the age of 18,” she added.

Growth of Danish Gambling Market Revenue

As it was stated in the official report issued by the Danish Gambling Authority, gross gaming revenue in Denmark grew 5.7% during 2018, to DKK9.74 billion ($1.46 billion).

It looks like the 2018 Fifa World Cup had a lot to do with this boost, because the 2017 total was DKK520 million, while in 2018 the revenue came up to DKK9.22 billion.

When it comes to revenue coming from sports betting, it rose to DKK2.53 billion last year, while the revenue was at DKK2.33 billion in 2017…

…and it represents 26% of total gaming revenue for the year.

In 2018, there was also a 19.5% increase in online casino revenue from DKK1.81 billion to DKK2.16 billion.

Source:

“Danish regulator launches whistleblower scheme”, igamingbusiness.com, May 16, 2019.