Denmark contemplates Gambling Act

Jake Graves November 9, 2023

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Denmark contemplates Gambling Act

The Danish Ministry of Taxation has proposed amendments to the nation’s Gambling Act.

These changes are being enacted to enhance the Danish Gambling Authority’s (DGA) powers, which have recently been subject to the addition of responsibilities related to countering match-fixing and safeguarding sporting integrity, a task which was previously assumed by Anti-Doping Denmark with the bill proposed by the tax office aiming to support this agenda.

Amendments

Through these amendments, the DGA now has the ability to obtain and exchange any necessary or confidential information related to match-fixing, which also includes the authorisation of greater sanctioning powers, including issuing injunctions, reprimands, and publishing restrictions, even affecting gaming suppliers’ licences.

The DGA will be granted further authority over more data processing to analyse gambling data and obtain unique player IDs for better monitoring of match-fixing and money-laundering risks.

Further changes

The Ministry has acknowledged that these new powers would require increased funding, with the estimated expenses rising annually.

To finance these changes, the Ministry proposes new fees on slot machines, which depend on the annual taxable gambling income of licence holders.

A new licence for B2B suppliers with updated annual fees is also a suggestion being perpetuated.

Currently, slot machine fees are paid on an annual basis, per machine, but under the Ministry’s proposals, this would change to a model more dependent on the licence holder’s annual taxable gambling income.

The legislation

The Danish Sports Confederation, the Danish Vending Machine Industry Association, the Danish Trot and Gallop Union and the country’s Bar Association are all organisations that will also be active during this hearing stage.

The legislation has now reached the consultation phase, engaging with various stakeholders, and is expected to come into force on July 1st, with new fees for slot machines effective from January 1st, 2025 should it be approved by the Danish legislature.

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