Online gamers in Denmark have had to live with a monopoly for the past 60 years, but the state-owned Danske Spil will no longer control gambling in the country, as the government have announced its plans for deregulation.
The announcement came yesterday when the government revealed plans to implement a regulated, partial liberalization of the gaming market. The plans will offer protection to players and guarantee future revenues for social causes.
The plans were brought about in part because of a European Commission lawsuit which alleges that the monopoly violates free market regulations. Denmark is not the only country which has come under scrutiny by the European Commission; Finland, Hungary, Sweden, France, Greece and Germany have also attracted attention for their gambling policies.
In the last year, state profits of 2.8 billion kroner were made on a national gaming spend of 11 billion kroner. Around 1.6 billion of the profits went to charitable youth organizations.
The new policies would mean that foreign gaming companies will be allowed to advertise in Denmark. The lotto and scratch card games will remain under the sole jurisdiction of Danske Spil, but other gaming will be opened to other companies. Gaming companies will need to pay a license fee to offer their services in the country.
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