The Danish Gambling Authority blocks 55 illegal websites

This is the seventh time that the Danish Gambling Authority has gone to court to have illegal websites blocked that offer betting, online casinos and more to Danes without having a licence to do so. On 2 March 2021, the City Court upheld the Gambling Authority in 55 cases. This will result in the highest number of blocks at once since the Danish Gambling Authority began blocking websites in 2012.

"One of our most important tasks is to protect players from illegal gambling. At the same time, we must ensure that the operators who are licensed to offer gambling in Denmark can run their business under orderly conditions. The record high number clearly shows that there is a need for the targeted effort, and we will therefore maintain the increased focus in the future,”says director of the Danish Gambling Authority, Anders Dorph.

The case ended up being a matter of principle, as the internet service providers as something new claimed that a website can only be required to be blocked if the Danish Gambling Authority can prove that Danish players have actually played on the site in question.

However, the court upheld the Danish Gambling Authority's claim and approved the current practice, where the Danish Gambling Authority documents via screenshots from the websites that gambling activities offered on the Danish market are offered without a Danish licence. Therefore, the process of blocking the illegal websites has now started. The internet service providers have chosen to appeal the City Court's decision to the Danish High Court.

Prior to the City Court's ruling this year, the Danish Gambling Authority had over the years blocked a total of 90 websites in this way. Now the number is up to 145 in total. The work of searching for and blocking sites that offer gambling illegally is an important part of the Danish Gambling Authority's work to ensure a fair and legal gambling market in Denmark.

In 2020, the Danish Gambling Authority had increased its focus on finding the websites that either offer or market gambling to Danes without a licence. More illegal sites were found than usual, which is also reflected in the high number of blockages.

When the Danish Gambling Authority assesses that a website offers gambling products aimed at Denmark without a licence, the Danish Gambling Authority requests the website to stop the illegal offer. If this does not happen, the case goes on to the City Court.

All gambling operators with a Danish licence must have the Danish Gambling Authority's label placed visibly on their website and all marketing material. In this way, players can easily check that a site is licensed to offer games in Denmark.