Data released by the Danish Gambling Authority shows a significant decline in gambling deposits during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The data shows that since the start of the lockdown in Denmark on 11 March, which closed all land-based casinos and gambling arcades, customer deposits at licensed betting operators in the country have fallen by 60 per cent.
The cancellation of most sporting events has driven the decline in betting deposits, without a corresponding increase in online casino gaming.
Over the same 9 March to 3 May period, customer deposits at online casinos increased by 2 per cent year-on-year, which the regulator attributed to the normal growth of the market.
“It very much looks like some of the measures that have been put in place in connection with the lockdown of Denmark has had an effect on parts of the gambling market – particularly on betting, land-based casinos and gaming machines,” said Danish Gambling Authority director Morten Niels Jakobsen.
“Although it is still too soon to measure the full effect of the coronavirus crisis on the gambling market, it does not appear as if the decrease in gambling at land-based casinos and gaming machines as well as betting has caused an increase in gambling on online casino.”
Lotteries held the largest share of the Danish gambling market in 2019, accounting for 33 per cent of gross gaming revenue, followed by betting at 26 per cent, online casino at 24 per cent, and gaming machines at 14 per cent. Land based casinos accounted for just 3 per cent of gross gaming revenue.
The data also shows that registrations on the national self-exclusion system ROFUS have remained stable during the lockdown with approximately 23,000 registrations as of 1 May, while calls to the StopSpillet gambling helpline decreased in March and April versus the same months in 2019.