Denmark’s gambling market set new revenue records in the second quarter of 2017 as locally licensed online casino operators soared to new heights.
Figures released this week by the Spillemyndigheden regulatory agency show Danish-licensed operators generated gross gaming revenue of DKK 1.462b (US $234.5m) in the three months ending June 30, a year-on-year improvement of nearly 4% and a new record high since the market liberalized in 2012.
The gains were driven by an equally record-setting performance by Danish-licensed online casino (including online poker) operators, who reported combined Q2 revenue of DKK 458m, nearly 16% higher than the same period last year and 10.3% higher than Q1 2017.
The casino gains came despite online poker reporting revenue of DKK 33m in Q2, down from DKK 37.1m in the same period last year and from DKK 34.9m in Q1. Denmark’s regulated online poker market peaked in Q1 2014, when Danish-licensed operators generated nearly DKK 47m.
By contrast, online casino ‘single player’ games enjoyed year-on-year and sequential growth of 18.6% and 11.7%, respectively. Since Q1 2014, online slots and table game revenue has more than doubled, despite payout ratios remaining constant at around 96%. Slots accounted for over two-thirds of online casino revenue, followed by blackjack (8.4%) and roulette (8.3%).
The sports betting vertical reported revenue of DKK 522m, essentially flat both year-on-year and sequentially. That is in itself a good sign, given that last summer got a boost from the Euro 2016 football tournament.
Land-based betting accounted for only 23.5% of the quarter’s betting stakes, with the vast bulk of sports wagers placed via mobile (53.1%) or desktop (23.5%) online channels. However, land-based channels continue to account for the majority (53.9%) of individual wagering transactions.
The land-based gaming machine market in restaurants and gaming halls reported revenue of DKK 387m, essentially flat year-on-year but up 4.5% sequentially. The nation’s seven land-based casinos generated DKK 95.4m in Q2, similarly stable both year-on-year and sequentially.
Spillemyndigheden launched its ROFUS voluntary self-exclusion registry last October, and the number of registrants has risen from 7,962 to 11,367 as of September 1. Of these, a symmetrical 7,777 opted for permanent exclusion.
