Newsletter 21

16 Jan 2015

The requirements for the annual account 2014

16 January 2015

We are publishing the final requirements for the annual accounts 2014. After the Danish Gambling Authority on 28 November 2014 published news on our website regarding the consultation on the requirements for the annual account 2014, which had a deadline for providing remarks to the proposed requirements no later than 19 December 2014, we received several hearing statements from interested parties. Some changes have been made to the requirements for the annual account 2014 compared to information no. 18.

When shall you publish?

The publication must be made two months after the closing of the financial year. As rules for the financial year might be different from country to country, the regulation must be interpreted in the way that the annual account must relate to the period from 1 January to 31 December for all licence holders.

All licence holders who have been authorized for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014 shall therefore publish the annual account by 28 February 2015.

Annual account for 2014

The annual account shall encompass:

  • The enterprise's key figures and
  • A report on how the licence holder has complied with the legislative requirements.

The publication must only relate to the provision of gambling in the Danish market in 2014 unless otherwise stated below. The publication must give a true picture of the gambling provision.

Publication of key figures

Afsnittet skal indeholde følgende:

  • The number of games provided at the end of the year divided into category of game.
  • A comparison of the theoretical and the actual pay out per game and per category of game. Guidance: The pay out per game shall not be stated when providing commission games. In relation to provision of betting only the actual pay out per game shall be stated.
  • Amounts, which have been withheld from players because of temporary gambling accounts, where the identity of the player has not been finally verified.
  • The number of complaints received from players (the definition of a complaint is when a player does not agree with the company's case procedure or its outcome).
  • The average processing time for complaints.
  • Percentage of all players who each quarter (1/1-14 1/4-14, 1/7-14, 1/10-14) have
    • Fixed a deposit limit
      • Dayly
      • Weekly
      • Monthly
    • Have a temporary exclusion by the gambling operator

The gambling categories are:

  • Online casino
  • Roulette
  • Baccarat
  • Punto banco
  • Black jack
  • Gaming machines
  • Poker
  • Combination games

Betting

  • Fixed odds betting
  • Pool betting
  • Electronically simulated sports games.

Requirements for the annual account

The annual account must as a minimum contain:

  • A management report.
    • The management report must include information on the enterprise’s main activities and developments herein, as well as provide a description of significant factors that have affected or likely will affect the enterprise. If the enterprise is a part of a business group, the uncertainties imposed respectively of the enterprise and the group must be described. Furthermore information on the major events, such as campaigns, changes in the gambling provision or gambling platforms including other major initiatives, etc., as well as the expectation for the new year must be contained in the management report.
  • Responsible gambling measures, in particular
    • measures to ensure that no marketing is sent to players who are excluded from gambling, and
    • responsible gambling initiatives that are not imposed by the executive orders.

  • Combating money laundering and terrorist financing (online casino).

  • Measures to reduce the risk of match fixing (betting - if you provide land-based betting it must be stated specifically).

  • How to prevent sales to young people under the age of 18 in the provision of land-based betting including description on the education of dealers and employees, as well as how many cases the gambling operator has recorded of betting sales to young people under the age of 18. If there has been recorded sales to young people under the age of 18, the gambling operator must describe how the licence holder is preventing it from happening in the future.

  • Processing of complaints.

  • Approval procedures for marketing initiatives to ensure compliance with § 36 on marketing as well as the  bonus provisions in the executive orders.

  • Detailed description of all measures where the customer is offered free games such as free bingo, registration bonus, risk-free games, etc. including detailed information on the terms of these measures.

  • Detailed description of other measures such as VIP programs.

If regulatory requirements are described, it must be described how the requirement is met. That is e.g. the procedures that are implemented to ensure compliance with the requirement.

If you find a lack of compliance with the requirements, you must describe how it is ensured that compliance is ensured in the future.

Other information

Furthermore you can publish other figures which might be of public interest. In the assessment of which figures you are publishing you must include which figures might be of public interest, such as professional organisations, treatment centers, sports organisations etc. This could be e.g. the number of players, age composition, spending per player etc.

Formal requirements

The annual account must be written in well-written Danish.

The annual account must be dated and signed by a person authorised to sign for the enterprise. This person must with his signature declare that the annual account gives a true account of the circumstances mentioned in the account.

For companies which are not established in this country or in another EU/EEA country, the annual account must also be signed by the Danish representative.

It is not a requirement that the annual account is elaborated in cooperation with an approved enterprise.

Where shall the publication take place?

The publication must be made on the domains where you have a license to provide gambling. The account must be immediately available for a minimum of 5 years. The annual account shall be placed on the part of the domain that contains basic information about the license holder.

When your publication has taken place you must send information to the Danish Gambling Authority about where you have published the annual account. The information must include documentation for who is authorized to sign on behalf of the license holder.

Provision of games in Greenland

If you have a license to provide gambling in Greenland, the annual account must also cover this provision of gambling.

Especially on income restricted licences

Holders of these licences are not covered by the requirement to publish an annual account.

Information, which must be provided directly to the Danish Gambling Authority

As mentioned above, there is no longer a requirement to publish a P&L account. Furthermore, we have removed certain proposed requirements in connection with the consultation. Mid-March we will send a message to all licence holders, where it will be stated which information the Danish Gambling Authority wishes to receive in the middle of 2015.

Laws and regulations

You can find the regulation in the Act on Gambling, section 43 (2), and Act for Greenland on certain games, section 22 (2).