In an article in one of the leading online gaming magazines in the industry, it was stated that Denmark will be opening up its online gaming market come the early part of 2011.
In an article written by Stephen Carter at eGaming Review, there was both good news and “not-so-good” news for Danish citizens. Carter writes that Denmark, which has long held a monopoly on online gaming through Danske Spil, will open up the market for companies outside of Danish borders to compete for the Danes’ online bankrolls. Unfortunately, this new arrangement won’t take place until March or April of next year instead of the January 1st mark that had been targeted.
Carter has an interview with Richardt Funch, the Nordic manager of Ladbrokes’ gaming operations, as to how the Danish setup will differ from what other countries have done. “In terms of poker, its proposed operators can still keep international liquidity, unlike Italy and France (both Italy and France have regulations that require a specific site for each country and allow their citizens to only play on those sites), which makes it much easier for us to set up, and for the Danish consumer, it is going to be much more positive,” Funch stated. “I think the Danish Gambling Board saw early on in the process that running a ring-fenced poker network based on 5.5 million people would be very unattractive for Danish poker players.”
The reasons for the delay are multifaceted, according to Carter and Funch. One reason for the delay is that the government must present their changes to the European Union. That notification has been delayed due to a “standstill” process and won’t be presented until October 11th; as such, the process for issuing licenses cannot begin before that date. This means that, instead of the January 1st target date, the Danish market will open up around the end of the first quarter of 2011. Funch also points out that the change in Denmark’s regulations will be a new challenge for the government to implement due to its unfamiliarity with regulating the industry.
“We are talking about a government that has only dealt with the monopoly license (for the past) 50 years, so there will be a lot of due diligence work and legal requirements,” Funch tells Carter in the eGaming Review article. “It is unlikely we could make it before Christmas. We have received some of the technical requirements, but still don’t know all the details. So March or April is more likely.”
According to Carter, the changes in Danish regulation will only apply to sports betting and poker/casino operations. Those who are looking to be a part of the new scheme will be able to apply for two licenses, one permitting holders to offer sports betting (excluding horse racing) online and offline, while the other license will be for online casino operations (poker, blackjack, roulette, slots, backgammon, whist, and bridge). The application fee will be €36,000 per license, plus a dual license application fee of €51,000, and an annual license fee between €7,000 and €200,000 based on the gross win of the individual company. The operations in Denmark will also be taxed at a flat rate of 20% on all products offered.
For other betting options in Denmark, including horse racing, lottery, bingo, scratch cards, and keno, Danske Spil will remain the only option available under the new proposed regulatory laws. This could result in further delays because of legal challenges from operators, according to Funch, who are looking to bring their horse racing operations into the country in addition to their casino and sports betting operations.