SPILLEBRANCHEN’s key points

The gaming industry is very competitive, and the margins are small. Therefore, the possibilities for, e.g. increased tax payment or far-reaching restrictions on the opportunities to run a gaming business in Denmark are, in fact, relatively small. Denmark is a small market seen from an international perspective. The profits at stake are quite limited, so if you raise the tax, there is a risk that the Danish market is not attractive enough for gaming providers to establish themselves in.

This may mean that the Treasury potentially loses tax revenue at the same time as the customers will move to the ‘black market’, which is not subject to the Danish gaming license and thus not subject to the Gaming Authorities’ supervision and regulation. Gambling providers with a Danish gambling license must be subject to efficient but fair framework conditions so that we can attract and retain companies with a Danish gaming license.

A study that we in Spillebranchen had done in 2015 of the black gaming market in Denmark clearly showed that the black gaming market is a reality in Denmark. The survey showed that the number of Danish players who play with “black” providers is small, but the players who play with the black providers play for large sums of money. The monthly consumption of players who play via providers without a Danish license is five times higher, typically younger players. A very restrictive regulation risks making it less attractive for gaming providers to establish themselves on the Danish market, which means that Denmark misses out on tax revenue. At the same time, it becomes more challenging to control gaming providers who do not have a license in Denmark.

The gaming companies that are active in the Danish market have obtained a Danish gaming license and thus live up to a number of politically set requirements, which must ensure a good balance between the companies’ commercial interests and the interests of Danish society around tax revenue from the gaming industry and a focused effort, against problematic gambling behaviour. The previous black gambling market in Denmark still exists, but on that basis has been largely eliminated, which is in the interest of all parties.

Gaming providers with a Danish gaming license pay a gaming fee of 28% of the gross gaming revenue. In addition, gaming providers in Denmark also pay corporate tax – in total, the Danish gaming industry produces more than 2 DKK. billion in tax. Over 1.5 billion comes from licensed online casinos and betting providers.

Gaming and gambling are a regular part of many adults’ lives. Most people have tried to get a scratch Christmas calendar, fill out a coupon with the ‘tips club’ or bet on a football match. Many people associate it with something cozy and fun. 82% of all adult Danes have tried to gamble, and almost two-thirds of the population (63 per cent) have played within the past year (1).

In 2016, it was estimated that there were 10,000 gambling addicts in Denmark (2) and approx. 15,000 players who were “problem players”, who are players who have difficulty controlling the game urge. Of course, this is far too many, but still, a fairly small proportion if you look at it in light of the fact that several million Danes have played within the past year. In addition, it should be mentioned that we in Denmark have fewer problems with gambling addiction than many of the countries with which we usually compare ourselves. Including England, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

No primary research has shown a link between gambling addiction and marketing. On the contrary, an Italian health authorities’ study shows no connection between betting advertisements and problematic gambling behaviour. However, there are gambling addicts who have said that they believe that betting advertisements can negatively affect them.

Therefore, we strive to include a “game responsible” message in all marketing, regardless of media. We are also delighted that a gambling addiction hotline, StopSpillet, has been established by law. All spillebranchen members refer to the hotline in all marketing material.

All players who are nervous about their game consumption have the option of self-exclusion in ROFUS (4). This allows players with a worrying game consumption to take a break or completely exclude themselves from playing.

Despite the liberalisation of the gaming market in 2012, there are fewer Danes playing gambling today compared to 2005. On the other hand, today, slightly more people experience gambling problems to some extent. The share of gambling addicts was 0.2 per cent of the population in 2005 and 0.3 per cent in 2016 (6). There have been better opportunities to capture problematic gambling behaviour online with liberalisation. At the same time, physical games in corner stores, Etc., are harder to control until the same rules that apply to online games are applied to physical games. Lotto is the game that most Danes play, followed by scratch cards, while people with gambling problems most often play bets and sports games.

We believe that it is the fundamental right of human beings to have their own money. And we believe that human beings are capable of taking care of themself and not least their finances. But children are not, and therefore we must emphasize that gambling is not for children.

The law already states that children and young people under 18 are not allowed to gamble. Unfortunately, it still happens that young people under 18 gamble for money. Fortunately, the proportion of young people who gamble for money is declining. In 2016 it was 40 per cent, while in 2007, it was as much as 52 per cent. (8).

With SPILLEBRANCHEN’s members and online gambling providers in general, it is rare for children or young people under the age of 18 to have the opportunity to gamble. All SPILLEBRANCHEN’s members have a system where you must log in with NEM-ID to play. Therefore, it is only possible for children to gamble if parents or older friends let the children and young people under the age of 18 borrow their accounts to get access to games.

We strongly dissociate ourselves from the fact that adults allow children and young people under 18 to use their accounts. However, it must be the parents’ responsibility to ensure that their children do not have access to gambling while they are not yet of legal age. If our member companies discover that children or young people under 18 are playing on their platforms, the account in question will be closed.

The gaming industry is already subject to the conditions of the Marketing Act. With the code of conduct, SPILLEBRANCHEN goes significantly further to prevent problematic gaming behaviour among young people. We do not believe that children and young people should be exposed to gambling and thereby be drawn. That is why we have introduced some initiatives to keep children and young people under 18 from playing, among other things that we do not market games before, during or after children’s and youth broadcasts.