Denmark’s regulated gambling market saw revenue rise 12% year-on-year, driven by strong gains in the online casino vertical.
Danish gaming regulator Spillemyndigheden reported total gambling revenue from its licensed betting and online casino operators hit DKK 750m (US $113.3m) in the three months ending March 31.
Online casino games were a chief engine of this growth, as the vertical rose nearly 22% year-on-year to DKK 310m. The vertical had previously enjoyed a steady growth rate of 10%. The casino category includes online poker games, the appeal of which continues to wane – either that or poker players are opting to play on internationally licensed sites – with revenue down 10% to DKK 45m.
Spillemyndigheden’s reports don’t distinguish between land-based and online sports betting, but total betting revenue was up 6% to DKK 440m. Revenue from Denmark’s seven land-based casinos came to DKK 75m while gaming machines in halls and restaurants generated DKK 370m. Both the casino and gaming machine categories were basically flat year-on-year.
Meanwhile, Spillemyndigheden recently inked a cooperation and information exchange agreement with French gaming regulator ARJEL. The two organizations claim to share a common view on online gambling regulation, although Denmark’s transition to a regulated online market has been viewed as much more successful than France’s tax-heavy regime. The two bodies intend to cooperate in areas including anti-money-laundering, advertising supervision and problem gambling protections.
Finally, Danish-licensed online operator Spillehallen.dk has inked a casino games content deal with Russia’s Connective Games and Canada’s Amaya Gaming. Spillehallen CEO Erik Boye Hansen said his firm’s Connective Games-supplied platform would benefit greatly from the addition of Amaya’s proprietary and third-party slots content.
