Danish Minister launches proposal to ban celebrities from gambling advertising

Danish Taxation Minister, Jeppe Bruus, plans to hold a meeting with the Danish Parliament’s parties to propose banning celebrities from being used in gambling advertising.

In a Facebook post, Bruus spoke about the need for Denmark to better protect the country’s children and young people from gambling.

Bruus said: “More children and young people are getting into money problems in connection with gambling, that must be reversed.

“I have already suggested that gambling advertisements be banned with sports on TV. In a little while, I will appear in the news to launch another proposal: Prohibition against the use of famous and other authorities in advertisements for gambling.”

“I will hold my first meeting with the Danish Parliament’s parties about how to reverse these developments so that fewer people end up with gambling problems,” he added.

At the moment, any gambling adverts in Denmark must not target children or young people under the age of 18, and any famous personality used should not portray gambling as a reason as to why they are successful.

Adverts must not focus on gambling as a form of entertainment or present that the chance of winning is greater than it is.

The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) updated advertising guidelines in April, which related to “sales promotion” and around providing information when marketing games to consumers.

A new section of regulations detailed how operators should display the likelihood of winning on slot machines at land-based locations.

The update included additions to the definition and description of variants of game promotions, with new sections detailing tournaments, lotteries and different ways to win.

In addition, there has been a change in practice regarding how firms calculate the value of drawing lots. The decisive factor will now be how many customers the provider thinks will participate in the draw.