Denmark Records Lower Gambling Spend, iGaming Grows

Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s gambling regulator, published a new statistic about the market’s performance in 2023. According to the authority, Danes spent a total of DKK 10.3 billion ($1.5 billion) on gambling in 2023.

The figure, Spillemyndigheden added, represents a slight decrease of 1.7% year-on-year. The gambling regulator added that spending has been on the decline every year since 2018, except in 2021, when the industry recorded higher spending than in 2020.

For reference, gambling spending peaked in 2018 and 2019 when players spent roughly DKK 11.2 billion ($1.6 billion) on gambling. 

In terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR), a figure that demonstrates how much money Danish players lose to gambling, the lottery sector maintained its leadership position. According to Spillemyndigheden’s report, Danes spent approximately DKK 3.45 billion (0.5 billion) on lotteries. The second most popular category was online gaming, which reported a gambling spend of DKK 3.08 billion ($0.45 billion).

The regulator added that Danes spent almost DKK 2.2 billion ($0.3 billion) on sports betting and DKK 1.18 billion ($0.2 billion) on gaming machines. The land-based casino segment lagged behind the other verticals, attracting only DKK 362 million ($52.7 million) in gambling spend.

Danish Players Prefer Playing Online

Spillemyndigheden noted that the online casino segment continues to experience the fastest growth out of any segment. Since the liberalization of the Danish gambling market in 2012, online casino gaming has quickly grown to be one of the preferred verticals of Danish players. In total, the online casino vertical has grown by 192% since 2012. 

The regulator added that sports betting has also experienced rapid growth, growing by 55% since 2012. On the contrary, the gaming machine, lottery and land-based sectors have been experiencing a steady decline.

In other news, Danske Spil, Denmark’s state-owned lottery and betting operator, recently published its FY 2023 results. The company reported a slight increase in revenue, although it was also affected by the overall market trends.

In other news, Spillemyndigheden recently blocked 83 illegal websites. This marked the regulator’s most wide-reaching block and demonstrated its effort to shield consumers from risky black market operators.