Denmark has notified the European Commission of proposed amendments to the country’s Gambling Act, which include new rules for advertising, game design, and duty of care obligations.
The amendments secured broad support from Denmark’s political parties in October and have a proposed effective date of 1 January 2027.
The new marketing restrictions prohibit TV advertising during live sport broadcasts, including ten minutes before and after the broadcast, as well as live odds displays during broadcasts and in-stadia at sporting events.
The Ministry of Taxation expects the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ad ban to reduce the revenue of licensed operators by DKK25 million annually (approx. €3.3 million).
Advertising on public transport and within 200 meters of schools will also be banned and advertisers will be prohibited from featuring anyone who is under the age of 25.
The Danish Gambling Act will also be amended to clamp down on the use of celebrities, athletes and influencers in gambling marketing, and licensed operators will be required to use age filters on social media to ensure that children and young people are not targeted.
Revenue share payments to affiliates will also be banned so that affiliates are not incentivised to encourage excessive gambling.
The new game design rules would mean that online slot games cannot give players the illusion of winning when the result is actually a payout which is equal to or lower than the player’s stake.
The amendments also strengthen and expand duty of care obligations; restrict welcome bonuses and VIP programs; introduce deposit and game speed limits for virtual sports games in retail; prohibit marketing of unlicensed online games; and expand the definition of online casino games to include dice and wheel games.
Denmark’s Ministry of Finance expects the gambling advertising ban in live sports to reduce the overall turnover of the regulated market and expects some of this consumption to switch to non-taxable offshore operators.
The expected DKK25 million drop in sports betting is expected to be partly offset by an extra DKK10 million in online casino revenue by 2027 from new dice and wheel games.
The Ministry also expects to bring in an additional DKK40 million annually by reducing gaming companies’ tax reimbursements.
The proposed amendments were notified to the European Commission on 13 January and are subject to a standstill period ending on 14 April 2026.