Danish regulator debuts social media education campaign for under-18s

The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has launched a new gambling education campaign targeted at under-18s.

The new campaign is centred on a fictional character, “the one-armed thief”, who features in short video content and social media posts to warn of gambling-related harm.

The character is played by Danish standup comedian and actor David Minerba, with the sketches having been developed with fellow countryman, comedian, actor and writer Martin Høgsted.

The regulator is also planning to use influencers to activate the campaign to further spread the message on social media and beyond.

The DGA claim 15% of Denmark’s 15 to 17-year-old age group have gambled online in the past 12 months, and that enquiries to the body’s self-exclusion scheme come largely from under-25s.

Anders Dorph, DGA director, said: “The seriousness of gambling addiction must not be downplayed. But this does not mean that we have to point fingers at the young people under 18. 

“We have chosen a new approach in this effort, where we try to open the eyes of young people through humour and irony on their terms, so that we arouse their curiosity, get them engaged and to relate to games for money without stigmatising and creating fear,” he added.

The launch of the new campaign comes a week after the DGA debuted its new gambling-related harm education site.

StyrPåSpillet.dk is aimed at parents, young people and teachers and offers reading materials, including articles written by the DGA, and reports on compulsive gambling.