Denmark channelisation up to 90.3% as 162 illegal sites closed

The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has revealed it blocked 162 illegal gambling websites over the course of 2024 as part of its push back against the black market.

Denmark’s regulator released its ‘Report on Illegal Gambling 2024’ today, 18 March, in which it explained the rise in illegal sites being blocked is a testament to the DGA’s increased focus on thwarting illegal activity, rather than an indicator of a growing black market. 

According to data from industry data source H2 Gambling Capital included in the report, Denmark’s channelisation rate has seen a marginal increase, now sitting at 90.29%, the eighth highest of any country in Europe. 

The rise comes after Denmark’s channelisation had sat at 89.21% in 2022, before rising to 90.15% in 2023. H2 Gambling Capital places Czechia as the market with the highest channelisation of 97.43%.

The report details the multiple methods deployed by the DGA to combat black market activity, including collaborating with the Danish Tax Agency’s anti-fraud unit, which helped identify the 162 illegal websites that were subsequently blocked. 

The update from the DGA also highlights the effect that blocking the sites has had. Analysis of web traffic data from the 49 sites that were blocked in 2023 shows that the number of Danish-based visits to the sites in question fell 44% between 2023 and 2024. 

“The figures indicate that DNS blocking has had an effect on reducing Danish traffic to illegal gambling sites also in 2023. This emphasises that DNS blocking remains an effective tool in the fight against illegal gambling operators,” the DGA said.

There was also an increase in the number of blocking requests from the DGA, up from 179 in 2023 to 214 last year.

Also included in the report was a note on skin betting and illegal online casinos accessed via Roblox, a computer game popular among those aged 18 and under. 

Players can win ‘Robux’, a virtual currency used in the game that can also be paid out in Danish kroner directly through DevEx (Roblox Developer Exchange Program), a tactic deployed by several black market operators that allow players to use Robux as a deposit method when wagering. 

The DGA found that almost all illegal Robux betting sites allow users to log in via their Roblox credentials. 

In August 2024, Denmark’s Court of Frederiksberg upheld the DGA’s stance that websites offering Roblox logins to access gambling in Danish are therefore aimed at the country’s customers. 

Regarding the DGA’s efforts to promote responsible gambling in 2024, the report noted the outcome of interviews with men aged between 18 and 23 conducted by the regulator to determine how familiar they were with the DGA and its work. 

The interviews found that players are well aware of the DGA and will actively seek out its logo on a gambling site to determine whether the operator has a Danish licence. 

The report referenced StyrPåSpillet.dk, a responsible gambling website run by the DGA which targets the parents and educators of children and young people and offers information and tools related to gambling. 

The site signposts several educational materials on gambling-related harm, prevention and treatment, as well as outlining how to identify illegal operators in the Danish market. 

The report also reaffirmed the DGA’s commitment to working with other regulatory bodies in other counties, noting its memberships with both the Enforcement Working Group within the Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF) and the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). 

The regulator addressed several partnerships it has in place with technology and media companies, including a deal with Apple that enables the DGA to flag any illegal gambling content offered on the App Store and have it removed. 

A similar deal is in place with Google, which likewise gives the DGA the ability to report illegal gambling content on YouTube. 

The Danish authority also has partnerships with Facebook, Instagram and streaming service Twitch, the latter of which was confirmed in 2024.