Denmark Spillemyndigheden Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden)
This is the gambling regulator under Denmark's Ministry of Taxation. It opened an online casino market early by European standards in 2012, and in 2025 online casino overtook lotteries to become the most popular form of gambling among Danes.
| English | Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) |
|---|---|
| Classification | Licenses & Regulation |
| Authority | Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) |
| Under | Denmark's Ministry of Taxation |
| Location | Odense, Denmark |
| Market opened | January 1, 2012 |
| Gambling tax | 28% of revenue (since 2021, previously 20%) |
| Self-exclusion | ROFUS |
| 2025 online casino | 4.309 billion kroner (passing lotteries at 3.492 billion kroner) |
| Online share | 73% of all gambling (2025) |
| Bingo | Land-based bingo liberalized in January 2025 |
Overview
Spillemyndigheden (the Danish Gambling Authority) is the gambling regulator under Denmark’s Ministry of Taxation. It is based in Odense, Denmark’s third-largest city.
Denmark opened its online casino and sports betting market to private operators on January 1, 2012. That was fairly early in Europe, and countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands later drew heavily on the Danish model when opening their markets. The state-owned company Danske Spil still holds the monopoly on lotteries such as the lotto, while licensed private companies compete in online casino and betting.
History
Key regulations
| Regulations | Details |
|---|---|
| License | Online casino and betting licenses issued separately |
| ID verification | Sign up with the Danish digital ID |
| Self-exclusion | Registering with ROFUS blocks access to all Danish-licensed sites (for a chosen period or permanently) |
| Deposit limits | Deposit limit must be set at sign-up |
| Gambling tax | 28% of revenue |
| Illegal sites | Blocklist of unlicensed sites maintained |
2025 market: online casino takes first place
According to Danish Gambling Authority statistics, in 2025 online casino overtook lotteries for the first time to become the form of gambling Danes spend the most money on.
| Segment (2025) | Revenue (player losses) |
|---|---|
| Online casinos | 4.309 billion kroner |
| Monopoly lotteries (lotto, class lotteries, scratch cards) | 3.492 billion kroner |
Also, in 2025 73% of all gambling took place on computers or phones (70% in 2024). Denmark is one of the European countries where gambling has gone most digital.
ROFUS
ROFUS is a unified self-exclusion register run by the Danish Gambling Authority. Once you register, you cannot use any online gambling site holding a Danish license, either for a set period or permanently. It is a flagship Nordic-style player protection measure, and Sweden’s Spelpaus and the Netherlands’ CRUKS play similar roles (see Sweden and Netherlands).
Relationship with the slot industry
Denmark is close to the region where Nordic slot developers grew up, and players are familiar with Nordic games such as those from NetEnt. Providers that supply games to operators must also meet Danish certification requirements.
Rating
The Danish model is regarded as a success story of “keeping the lottery monopoly while allowing competition in online casino and betting.” Its notable feature is that the share of play in the regulated market stays high despite high tax rates.
Location
The Danish Gambling Authority is in Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.